Italian painter, c. 1425–1479, known for luminous panel paintings
Thieves have taken three panels from Antonello da Messina's San Gregorio polyptych and a small double-sided devotional panel from the Regional Museum in Messina late on Aug. 15 during the city's Vara procession. Two panels were later abandoned near the museum. Authorities are investigating a likely commissioned theft and probing how alarms were circumvented.
Stolen artworks attributed to Antonello da Messina have been taken from the Regional Interdisciplinary Museum of Messina during a late Saturday burglary caught on Assumption Day in the city. Five wooden panels comprising the San Gregorio Polyptych and a small two-sided Virgin and Christ painting have been seized; two panels were left behind near the museum grounds. Authorities suspect the theft was ordered for high-value art trafficking.
Two men have smashed a glass case at Vienna’s MAK museum, seizing a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace designed for an Egyptian royal wedding in 1939. Police say the suspects fled in an unknown direction; the piece is valued at millions. The theft follows a wave of recent European museum heists amid rising security concerns.