Letterio Subba (1787 – 11 January 1868) was an Italian

Romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

painter. He was born and died in

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

Life

He received a rigidly academic education, initially in Naples, then in Rome and Florence. During his stay in Rome he produced two small paintings, ''Interior of Canova's Studio during his Sculpting of "Theseus"'' (painted from life in 1819 and now in the

museo regionale di Messina The Museo Interdisciplinare Regionale (MuMe). or Regional Museum of Messina, is an art museum located on the northern coast of the city of Messina, Sicily, Italy. MuMe illustrates the development of art and culture in Messina from the 12th to t ...

) and ''Interior of

Thorvaldsen Thorvaldsen is a surname. People with the name include: * Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844), Danish/Icelandic sculptor * Randi Thorvaldsen (1925–2011), Norwegian speedskater * Thor Thorvaldsen (1909–1987), Norwegian Olympic sailor * Unn Thorva ...

's Studio during his Modelling of "The Three Graces"'' (now lost). He also excelled in engraving and watercolour. He returned to his birthplace in 1823 and its city council authorised him to open a drawing and painting school near the Regia Accademia Carolina. The Bourbon government later made him director of the university's Scuola di belle Arti, attended by a whole generation of artists from the city. One of his pupils was Giuseppe Prinzi. In 1834 he and his brother Francesco produced a bronze sculpture of Francis I of the Two Sicilies, melted down for cannonballs in 1848. Around the same time he produced watercolours linked to the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

. In 1844 he designed the Teatro Mandanici in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto and led the construction work on it. In 1848 he took part in the

Revolt of Messina Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

, but it failed, forcing him to flee to Malta, leaving the Scuola di belle Arti in the hands of

Michele Panebianco Michele Panebianco (20 December 1806 - 4 April 1873) was an Italian painter. He was born and died in Messina. Life He studied in Rome under Letterio Subba then Vincenzo Camuccini,. He headed Messina's scuola di belle arti. Many of his religious ...

. He was pardoned and in 1854 returned to Messina, working right up to his death.

Works

Much of his oeuvre was destroyed in the

1908 Messina earthquake The 1908 Messina earthquake (also known as the 1908 Messina and Reggio earthquake) occurred on 28 December in Sicily and Calabria, southern Italy with a moment magnitude of 7.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). The epicen ...

. Four of his surviving secular works are now in the Museo regionale di Messina – ''The Goddess Calypso Welcoming Telemachus'' (1830) and the undated ''Cupid and Psyche'', ''The Nymphs Laipizia and Fetusa receiving the First Hare Killed by Orion, Founder of Messina'' and ''Foundation of the Compagnia dei verdi''. Another, ''Blind Daphnis Among the Shepherds'', is in the Agostino Gallo collection in the

Galleria regionale della Sicilia Palazzo Abatellis (also known as Palazzo Patella) is a palazzo in Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy, located in the Kalsa quarter. It is home to the Galleria Regionale della Sicilia, the Gallery of Art for the Sicilian region. History The pal ...

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

. He was particularly active in religious art: * 1828, ''Madonna and Child'', Duomo di Sant'Agata,

Alì Alì is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about east of Palermo and about southwest of Messina. Alì borders the following municipalities: Alì Terme, Fiumedinisi, Itala ...

. * 1828, ''Saints and the Good Shepherds'', Duomo di Sant'Agata, Alì. * 1837, ''The Virgin Mary Saves Messina from Cholera'', fresco lost in the 1908 earthquake; sketch survives in the collections of Messina Cathedral. * 1837, ''L'Addolorata'', Museo regionale di Messina. * 1840, ''Mary Magdalene at Christ's Feet'', Museo regionale di Messina. * 1848c., Fresco cycle (''St Paul Preaching'', ''St Paul with Ananias'' and ''St Paul Caught Up to the Third Heaven''); produced on Malta; now in the central nave of the collegiata di San Paolo Naufrago in

La Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 was ...

. Page 161, Achille Ferres, "''Descrizione storica delle chiese di Malta e Gozo''

Malta, 1866. * ''Nativity of the Virgin'', Museo regionale di Messina. * ''Embassy to the Virgin from the Citizens of Messina'', Museo regionale di Messina. His sculptures included: * ''Francis I of the Two Sicilies'', bronze statue, destroyed in 1848 * ''Saturn and the Mamertine Genius'', destroyed in the 1908 earthquake. * 1860, ''Scylla'', copy of ''Scylla'' by Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli from Messina's Fontana del Nettuno. He also headed the restoration of

Alonzo Rodriguez Alonzo Rodriguez (1578 – 22 April 1648), sometimes rendered Alfonso Rodriquez was a painter largely active in Messina. He is thought to have been a follower of Caravaggio. Rodriguez' career was first recorded by Francesco Susinno in his ''L ...

's major fresco of the Last Supper from the refectory of the convento di Santa Maria di Gesù Inferiore and housed in the sala della Giunta of Messina's

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Subba, Letterio 19th-century Italian painters 19th-century Italian sculptors Artists from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies 1787 births 1868 deaths Painters from Messina Italian romantic painters