Antonello da Messina (c. 1430 – February 1479)
Christ Blessing
apparently dated 1465
Oil (identified) on wood, painted surface
38.7 x 29.8 cm
National Gallery, London, UK

Inscribed on a cartellino on the ledge: Millesimo quatricentessimo sexstage/simo quinto viije Indi(ctionis) antonellus/ messaneus me pinxit. (In the year 1465 of the eighth indiction Antonello da Messina painted me).

Christ's gesture of blessing was altered by Antonello to make the hand more foreshortened, thus demonstrating his skill as well as increasing the drama. This change is now evident on the surface and is clear in infra-red photographs.

The date given in the inscription has usually been taken as 1465, but the meaning of ‘indiction’ here has been the matter of much debate, and a date in the 1470s has recently been proposed.

Private collection, Genoa, by 1861 (apparently from Naples in the 1840s); bought, 1861.

Copyright © 2001, National Gallery, London