Didier Barra Messina And The Port: A "bird's-eye View" By The Franco-flemish Painter, C. 1630.

Painting depicting the city of Messina from abird’s-eye view, along with its harbor. The layout of the harbor bears a direct resemblance toa 16th-century painting depicting the harbor of Messina by PieterBruegel the Elder, in which the outer end of the harbor terminates, as in thispainting, with a tower. A modification was later introduced tocreate a protruding arm-like structure, to further enclose and protectthe harbor—a feature we find depicted in engravings from the firsthalf of the 17th century.The painting, executed in two-tone shades of green and brown andtheir variations, rendered in a quick, non-meticulous manner, leads us toattribute the work to a Franco-Flemish master active in Rome andNaples, and likely also in Messina and Sicily. The kings of Spainloved to display their distant possessions to their court, and theserare bird’s-eye-view depictions represent extremelyrare historical documents, which have now become true toponymic “archeology.” This work, dating to the firsthalf of the 17th century, appears to be painted in the style of Didier Barra (1590–1652) andFrançois de Nomè, known as “Monsù Desiderio” (1593–1624), bothfrom Lorraine and friends, from the city of Metz, among whom there is stillsome uncertainty today regarding the attribution of authorship with certainty, even though theearly 17th-century painter who most enjoyed painting seascapes of ports isDidier Barra. It would be decisive to establish the painting’s date with certainty,since if it were found to have been created after 1624—the year ofof Monsù Desiderio, the attribution to Didier Barra would be undisputed, as hepreferred to depict bird’s-eye-view portraits of ports, of which we havea vast collection.