Andrea Mantegna
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Andrea Mantegna (, , ; September 13, 1506) was an Italian painter, a student of
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
archeology, and son-in-law of
Jacopo Bellini Jacopo Bellini (c. 1400 – c. 1470) was one of the founders of the Renaissance style of painting in Venice and northern Italy. His sons Gentile and Giovanni Bellini, and his son-in-law Andrea Mantegna, were also famous painters. Few of Belli ...
. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with perspective, e.g. by lowering the horizon in order to create a sense of greater monumentality. His flinty, metallic landscapes and somewhat stony figures give evidence of a fundamentally sculptural approach to painting. He also led a workshop that was the leading producer of prints in
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
before 1500.


Biography


Youth and education

Mantegna was born in Isola di Carturo,
Venetian Republic The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...
close to
Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
(now Italy), second son of a carpenter, Biagio. At the age of 11, he became the apprentice of Paduan painter
Francesco Squarcione Francesco Squarcione (''c.'' 1395 – after 1468) was an Italian artist from Padua. His pupils included Andrea Mantegna (with whom he had many legal battles), Cosimo Tura and Carlo Crivelli. There are only two works signed by him: the ''Mad ...
. Squarcione, whose original profession was tailoring, appears to have had a remarkable enthusiasm for ancient art, and a faculty for acting. Like his famous compatriot
Petrarca Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited w ...
, Squarcione was an
ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
enthusiast: he traveled in Italy, and perhaps also in Greece, collecting antique statues, reliefs, vases, etc., making drawings from them himself, then making available his collection for others to study. All the while, he continued undertaking works on commission, to which his pupils, no less than himself, contributed. As many as 137 painters and pictorial students passed through Squarcione's school, which had been established around 1440 and which became famous all over Italy. Padua attracted artists not only from the
Veneto it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...
but also from
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
, such as
Paolo Uccello Paolo Uccello ( , ; 1397 – 10 December 1475), born Paolo di Dono, was an Italian (Florentine) painter and mathematician who was notable for his pioneering work on visual perspective in art. In his book ''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, S ...
, Filippo Lippi and
Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Florence, he studied classical sculpture and used this to develop a complete Renaissance s ...
; Mantegna's early career was shaped by impressions of Florentine works. At the time, Mantegna was said to be a favorite pupil of Squarcione, who taught him
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and instructed him to study fragments of Roman
sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...
. The master also preferred
forced perspective Forced perspective is a technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. It manipulates human visual perception through the use of scaled objects and the correlation ...
, recollection of which may account for some of Mantegna's later innovations. However, at the age of 17, Mantegna left Squarcione's workshop. He later claimed that Squarcione had profited from his work without sufficient payment. Mantegna's first work, now lost, was an altarpiece for the church of Santa Sofia in 1448. The same year he was called, together with Nicolò Pizolo, to work with a large group of painters entrusted with the decoration of the
Ovetari Chapel The Ovetari Chapel (Italian: ''Cappella Ovetari'') is a chapel in the right arm of the Church of the Eremitani in Padua. It is renowned for a Renaissance fresco cycle by Andrea Mantegna and others, painted from 1448 to 1457. The cycle was destroyed ...
in the
transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...
of the
church of the Eremitani The Church of the Eremitani (Italian: ''Chiesa degli Eremitani''), or Church of the Hermits, is a former- Augustinian, 13th-century Gothic-style church in Padua, region of the Veneto, Italy. It is also now notable for being adjacent to the Cappell ...
. It is probable, however, that before this time some of the pupils of Squarcione, including Mantegna, had already begun the series of frescoes in the chapel of S. Cristoforo, in the church of Sant'Agostino degli Eremitani, which are today considered a masterpiece. After a series of coincidences, Mantegna finished most of the work alone, though Ansuino, who collaborated with Mantegna in the Ovetari Chapel, brought his style from the Forlì school of painting. The now critical Squarcione carped about the earlier works of this series, illustrating the life of St James; he said the figures were like men made of stone, and should have been painted stone color. This series was almost entirely lost in the 1944 Allied bombings of Padua. The most dramatic work of the fresco cycle was the work set in the
worm's-eye view A worm's-eye view is a view of an object from below, as though the observer were a worm; the opposite of a bird's-eye view. It can be used to look up to something to make an object look tall, strong, and mighty while the viewer feels childlike ...
perspective, '' St. James Led to His Execution''. (For an example of Mantegna's use of a lowered viewpoint, see the image at right of Saints Peter and
Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
; though much less dramatic in its perspective than the ''St. James'' picture, the '' San Zeno'' altarpiece was around 1455 not long after the St. James cycle was finished, and uses many of the same techniques, including an architectural structure based on Classical antiquity.) The sketch for the ''St. Stephen'' fresco survived and is the earliest known preliminary sketch which still survives to compare with the corresponding fresco. The drawing shows proof that nude figures—which were later painted as clothed—were used in the conception of works during the
Early Renaissance Renaissance art (1350 – 1620 AD) is the painting, sculpture, and decorative arts of the period of European history known as the Renaissance, which emerged as a distinct style in Italy in about AD 1400, in parallel with developments which occ ...
. In the preliminary sketch, the perspective is less developed and closer to a more average viewpoint however. Despite the authentic Classical look of the monument, it is not a copy of any known Roman structure. Mantegna also adopted the wet drapery patterns of the Romans, who took the form from the Greek invention, for the clothing of his figures, although the tense figures and interactions are derived from
Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Florence, he studied classical sculpture and used this to develop a complete Renaissance s ...
. Among the other early Mantegna frescoes are the two saints over the entrance porch of the church of Sant'Antonio in Padua, 1452, and the 1453 '' San Luca Altarpiece'', with St. Luke and other saints, for the church of S. Giustina and now in the
Brera Gallery The Pinacoteca di Brera ("Brera Art Gallery") is the main public gallery for paintings in Milan, Italy. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings from the 13th to the 20th century, an outgrowth of the cultural program of ...
in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
. As the young artist progressed in his work, he came under the influence of
Jacopo Bellini Jacopo Bellini (c. 1400 – c. 1470) was one of the founders of the Renaissance style of painting in Venice and northern Italy. His sons Gentile and Giovanni Bellini, and his son-in-law Andrea Mantegna, were also famous painters. Few of Belli ...
, father of the celebrated painters Giovanni Bellini and
Gentile Bellini Gentile Bellini (c. 1429 – 23 February 1507) was an Italian painter of the school of Venice. He came from Venice's leading family of painters, and at least in the early part of his career was more highly regarded than his younger brother Giovan ...
, and met his daughter Nicolosia. In 1453 Jacopo consented to a marriage between Nicolosia and Mantegna.


Aesthetic

Mantegna was criticized for his body forms being too statuesque. His art, however, differentiates between ancient classical aesthetics in nude forms and purposeful depictions of sculptural illusion. The age-old criticism stems from Mantegna's master teacher Francesco Squarcione of Padua, described in Giorgio Vasari's ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects.'' Pertaining to the Ovetari Chapel frescoes in the Church of Eremitani, Vasari writes that Squarcione stingingly remarked that "Andrea would have done much better with those figures if he had given them the tint of marble and not all those colours; they would have been nearer to perfection since they had no resemblance to life." This is ironic since, according to Vasari, it was Squarcione's love of ancient Roman art that influenced Mantegna. Mantegna is believed to have studied reproduced castings of these sculptures at Squarcione's Studio. He was also influenced by the work of Donatello and models he himself sculpted to capture anatomy. Later in life, he was in Rome from 1488 to 1490 where he also studied sculptural masterpieces. Andrea seems to have been influenced by his old preceptor's strictures, although his later subjects, for example, those from the legend of
St. Christopher Saint Christopher ( el, Ἅγιος Χριστόφορος, ''Ágios Christóphoros'') is venerated by several Christian denominations as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman emperor Decius (reigned 249–251) or alternatively u ...
, combine his sculptural style with a greater sense of naturalism and vivacity. Trained as he had been in the study of marbles and the severity of the antique, Mantegna openly avowed that he considered ancient art superior to nature as being more eclectic in form. As a result, the painter exercised precision in outline, privileging the figure. Overall, Mantegna's work thus tended towards rigidity, demonstrating an austere wholeness rather than graceful sensitivity of expression. His draperies are tight and closely folded, being studied (it is said) from models draped in paper and woven fabrics gummed in place. His figures are slim, muscular and bony; the action impetuous but of arrested energy. Finally, tawny landscape, gritty with littering pebbles, marks the athletic hauteur of his style. Mantegna never changed the manner which he had adopted in Padua, though his coloring—at first neutral and undecided—strengthened and matured. Throughout his works there is more balancing of color than fineness of tone. One of his great aims was optical illusion, carried out by a mastery of perspective which, though not always mathematically correct, attained an astonishing effect for the times. Successful and admired though he was there, Mantegna left his native Padua at an early age, and never returned there; the hostility of Squarcione has been cited as the cause. He spent the rest of his life in
Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...
,
Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...
and Rome; it has not been confirmed that he also stayed in Venice and Florence. In Verona between 1457 and 1459, he painted a grand '' altarpiece'' for the church of
San Zeno Maggiore The Basilica di San Zeno (also known as ''San Zeno Maggiore'' or ''San Zenone'') is a minor basilica of Verona, northern Italy constructed between 967 and 1398 AD. Its fame rests partly on its Romanesque architecture and partly upon the traditi ...
, depicting a Madonna and angels, with four saints on each side on the ''San Zeno Altarpiece'', central panel, San Zeno, Verona. It was probably the first good example of Renaissance art in Verona, and inspired a similar painting by the Veronese artist
Girolamo dai Libri Girolamo dai Libri (1474/1475 – July 2, 1555) was an Italian illuminator of manuscripts and painter of altarpieces, working in an early-Renaissance style. Accademia - Madonna col Bambino e angeli musicanti - Girolamo Dai Libri.jpg, Virgin ...
.


Work in Mantua

The Marquis
Ludovico III Gonzaga Ludovico III Gonzaga of Mantua, also spelled Lodovico (also Ludovico II; 5 June 1412 – 12 June 1478) was the ruler of the Italian city of Mantua from 1444 to his death in 1478. Biography Ludovico was the son of Gianfrancesco I Gonzaga and ...
of Mantua had for some time been pressing Mantegna to enter his service; and the following year, 1460 Mantegna was appointed court artist. He resided at first from time to time at
Goito Goito ( Upper Mantovano: ) is a ''comune'' with a population of 10,005 in the Province of Mantua in Lombardy. Goito is north of Mantua on the road leading to Brescia and Lake Garda, and straddles the old east–west Via Postumia between Cremona a ...
, but, from December 1466 onwards, he moved with his family to Mantua. His engagement was for a salary of 75 lire a month, a sum so large for that period as to mark conspicuously the high regard in which his art was held. He was in fact the first painter of any eminence to be based in Mantua. His Mantuan masterpiece was painted for the court of Mantua, in the apartment of the Castle of the city, today known as
Camera degli Sposi The Camera degli Sposi ("bridal chamber"), sometimes known as the Camera picta ("painted chamber"), is a room frescoed with illusionistic paintings by Andrea Mantegna in the Ducal Palace, Mantua, Italy.. During the fifteenth century when the Came ...
(literally, "Wedding Chamber") of
Palazzo Ducale Several palaces are named Ducal Palace (Italian: ''Palazzo Ducale'' ) because it was the seat or residence of a duke. Notable palaces with the name include: France * Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, Dijon * Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine, Nancy * ...
, Mantua: a series of full compositions in fresco including various portraits of the Gonzaga family and some figures of genii and others. The Chamber's decoration was finished presumably in 1474. The ten years that followed were not happy ones for Mantegna and Mantua: Mantegna grew irritable, his son Bernardino died, as well as the Marchese Ludovico, his wife Barbara and his successor Federico (who had dubbed Mantegna ''cavaliere'', "knight" ). Only with the election of Francesco II of the House of Gonzaga did artistic commissions in Mantua recommence. He built a stately house in the area of the church of San Sebastiano, and adorned it with a multitude of paintings. The house can still be seen today, although the pictures no longer survive. In this period he began to collect some ancient Roman busts (which were given to
Lorenzo de Medici Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (; 1 January 1449 – 8 April 1492) was an Italian statesman, banker, ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic and the most powerful and enthusiastic patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Also known as Lorenzo ...
when the Florentine leader visited Mantua in 1483), painted some architectonic and decorative fragments, and finished the intense '' St. Sebastian'' now in the
Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
(''box at top''). In 1488 Mantegna was called by Pope Innocent VIII to paint frescoes in a chapel Belvedere in the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
. This series of frescoes, including a noted ''Baptism of Christ'', was later destroyed by
Pius VI Pope Pius VI ( it, Pio VI; born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799. Pius VI condemned the French Revoluti ...
in 1780. The pope treated Mantegna with less liberality than he had been used to at the Mantuan court; but all things considered their connection, which ceased in 1500, was not unsatisfactory to either party. Mantegna also met the famous Turkish hostage Jem and carefully studied Rome's ancient monuments, but his impression of the city was a disappointing one overall. Returned to Mantua in 1490, he embraced again his more literary and bitter vision of antiquity, and entered in strong connection with the new Marchesa, the cultured and intelligent
Isabella d'Este Isabella d'Este (19 May 1474 – 13 February 1539) was Marchioness of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion, whos ...
. In what was now his city he went on with the nine tempera pictures of the ''
Triumphs of Caesar The ''Triumphs of Caesar'' are a series of nine large paintings created by the Italian Renaissance artist Andrea Mantegna between 1484 and 1492 for the Gonzaga Ducal Palace, Mantua. They depict a triumphal military parade celebrating the victor ...
'', which he had probably begun before his leaving for Rome, and which he finished around 1492. These superbly invented and designed compositions are gorgeous with the splendor of their subject matter, and with the classical learning and enthusiasm of one of the masters of the age. Considered Mantegna's finest work, they were sold in 1628 along with the bulk of the Mantuan art treasures to King
Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after hi ...
.


Later years

Despite his declining health, Mantegna continued to paint. Other works of this period include the ''Madonna of the Caves'', the '' St. Sebastian'' and the famous '' Lamentation over the Dead Christ'', probably painted for his personal funerary chapel. Another work of Mantegna's later years was what is known as the ''
Madonna della Vittoria The ''Madonna della Vittoria'' is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna; the painting was executed in 1496. History On 6 July 1495 the French army of Charles VIII of France, retreating from Italy after the French Invasi ...
'', now in the Louvre. It was painted in tempera about 1495, in commemoration of the Battle of Fornovo, whose questionable outcome Francesco Gonzaga was eager to show as an Italian League victory; the church which originally housed the picture was built from Mantegna's own design. The Madonna is here depicted with various saints, the archangel Michael and St. Maurice holding her mantle, which is extended over the kneeling Francesco Gonzaga, amid a profusion of rich festooning and other accessories. Though not in all respects of his highest order of execution, this counts among the most obviously beautiful of Mantegna's works in which the qualities of beauty and attractiveness are less marked than those other excellences more germane to his severe genius, tense energy passing into haggard passion. After 1497, Mantegna was commissioned by
Isabella d'Este Isabella d'Este (19 May 1474 – 13 February 1539) was Marchioness of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion, whos ...
to translate the mythological themes written by the court poet Paride Ceresara into paintings for her private apartment ('' studiolo'') in the
Palazzo Ducale Several palaces are named Ducal Palace (Italian: ''Palazzo Ducale'' ) because it was the seat or residence of a duke. Notable palaces with the name include: France * Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, Dijon * Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine, Nancy * ...
. These paintings were dispersed in the following years: one of them, the legend of the God Comus, was left unfinished by Mantegna and completed by his successor as court painter in Mantua,
Lorenzo Costa Lorenzo Costa (1460 – 5 March 1535) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance. Biography He was born at Ferrara, but moved to Bologna by his early twenties, and was probably influenced by the Bolognese School. However, many artists worked in ...
. The other painters commissioned by Isabella for her studiolo were
Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil. Ea ...
and
Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...
. After the death of his wife, Mantegna became at an advanced age the father of an illegitimate son, Giovanni Andrea; and, finally, although he continued embarking on various expenses and schemes, he had serious tribulations, such as the banishment from Mantua of his son Francesco, who had incurred the displeasure of the Marchese. The difficult situation of the aged master and connoisseur required the hard necessity of parting with a beloved antique bust of Faustina. Very soon after this transaction he died in Mantua, on September 13, 1506. In 1516, a handsome monument was set up to him by his sons in the church of
Sant'Andrea Sant'Andrea is the Italian language, Italian name for List of saints named Andrew, St. Andrew, most commonly Andrew the Apostle. It may refer to: Communes in Italy *Castronuovo di Sant'Andrea, Basilicata *Cazzano Sant'Andrea, Lombardy *Mazzarrà ...
, where he had painted the altarpiece of the mortuary chapel. The dome is decorated by
Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...
.


Engravings

Mantegna was no less eminent as an engraver, though his history in that respect is somewhat obscure, partly because he never signed or dated any of his plates, but for a single disputed instance of 1472. The account which has come down to us from
Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work '' The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculp ...
(who was, as usual, keen to assert that everything flows from Florence) is that Mantegna began engraving in Rome, prompted by the engravings produced by the Florentine Baccio Baldini after
Sandro Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli (, ), was an Italian Renaissance painting, Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th cent ...
. This is now considered most unlikely as it would consign all the numerous and elaborate engravings made by Mantegna to the last sixteen or seventeen years of his life, which seems a brief period for them. Besides, the earlier engravings reflect an earlier period of his artistic style. It is possible that Mantegna may have begun engraving while still in
Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
, under the tuition of a distinguished goldsmith, Niccolò. He and his workshop engraved about thirty plates, according to the usual reckoning; large, full of figures, and highly studied. It is now considered either that he only engraved seven himself, or none. Another artist from the workshop who made several plates is usually identified as Giovanni Antonio da Brescia (aka Zoan Andrea). Among the principal examples are
''Battle of the Sea Monsters''''Virgin and Child''
a ''Bacchanal Festival'', ''Hercules and Antaeus'', ''Marine Gods'', ''Judith with the Head of Holofernes'', the ''Deposition from the Cross'', the ''Entombment'', the ''Resurrection'', the ''Man of Sorrows'', the ''Virgin in a Grotto'', and several scenes from the ''Triumph of Julius Caesar'' after his paintings. Several of his engravings are supposed to be executed on some metal less hard than copper. The technique of himself and his followers is characterized by the strongly marked forms of the design, and by the parallel hatching used to produce shadows. The closer the parallel marks, the darker the shadows were. The prints are frequently to be found in two states, or editions. In the first, the prints have been produced using a roller, or even by hand pressing, and they are weak in tint; in the second, a printing press has been used, and the ink is stronger. Neither Mantegna or his workshop are now believed to have produced the so-called
Mantegna Tarocchi The Mantegna Tarocchi, also known as the Tarocchi Cards, Tarocchi in the style of Mantegna, Baldini Cards, are two different sets each of fifty 15th-century Italian old master prints in engraving, by two different unknown artists. The sets are ...
cards. File:Bacco - Mantegna, Andrea - Baccanale col tino -1470 ca.-.jpg, ''Bacchanal with a wine vat'',
engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...
by Mantegna, c. 1475, 278 × 422 mm File:Andrea Mantegna - The Lamentation over the Dead Christ - WGA13981.jpg, '' The Lamentation over the Dead Christ''
Tempera on canvas, 68×81 cm, 1490;
Pinacoteca di Brera The Pinacoteca di Brera ("Brera Art Gallery") is the main public gallery for paintings in Milan, Italy. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings from the 13th to the 20th century, an outgrowth of the cultural program of ...
, Milan.


Assessment and legacy

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work '' The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculp ...
eulogizes Mantegna, although pointing out his litigious character. He had been fond of his fellow pupils in Padua: and with two of them, Dario da Trevigi and Marco Zoppo, he retained steady friendships. Mantegna became very expensive in his habits, fell at times into financial difficulties, and had to press his valid claims for payment upon the attention of the Marchese. In terms of Classical taste, Mantegna distanced all contemporary competition. Though substantially related to the 15th century, his influence on the style and trends of his age was very marked over Italian art generally. Giovanni Bellini, in his earlier works, obviously followed the lead of his brother-in-law Andrea. Albrecht Dürer was influenced by his style during his two trips in Italy, reproducing several of his engravings.
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
took from Mantegna the use of decorations with
festoons A festoon (from French ''feston'', Italian ''festone'', from a Late Latin ''festo'', originally a festal garland, Latin ''festum'', feast) is a wreath or garland hanging from two points, and in architecture typically a carved ornament depic ...
and fruit. Mantegna's main legacy in considered the introduction of spatial illusionism, both in frescoes and in ''
sacra conversazione In art, a (; plural: ''sacre conversazioni''), meaning holy (or sacred) conversation, is a genre developed in Italian Renaissance painting, with a depiction of the Virgin and Child (the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus) amidst a group of sain ...
'' paintings: his tradition of ceiling decoration was followed for almost three centuries. Starting from the faint cupola of the
Camera degli Sposi The Camera degli Sposi ("bridal chamber"), sometimes known as the Camera picta ("painted chamber"), is a room frescoed with illusionistic paintings by Andrea Mantegna in the Ducal Palace, Mantua, Italy.. During the fifteenth century when the Came ...
,
Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...
built on the research of his master and collaborator into perspective constructions, eventually producing a masterwork like the dome of
Cathedral of Parma Parma Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Parma; Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Parma, Emilia-Romagna (Italy), dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Parma. I ...
.


Major works

*'' St. Jerome in the Wilderness'' (c. 1448–1451) - Tempera on wood, 48 × 36 cm,
São Paulo Museum of Art The São Paulo Museum of Art ( pt, Museu de Arte de São Paulo, or ') is an art museum located on Paulista Avenue in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It is well known for its headquarters, a 1968 concrete and glass structure designed by Lina Bo ...
,
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
, Brazil
*'' The Adoration of the Shepherds'' (c. 1451–1453) - Tempera on canvas transferred from wood, 40 × 55,6 cm,
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, New York City
*'' San Luca Altarpiece'' (1453) - Panel, 177 × 230 cm,
Pinacoteca di Brera The Pinacoteca di Brera ("Brera Art Gallery") is the main public gallery for paintings in Milan, Italy. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings from the 13th to the 20th century, an outgrowth of the cultural program of ...
, Milan
*'' St Euphemia'' (1454) - Glue on tempera on canvas, 171 × 78 cm, Museo nazionale di Capodimonte,
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
*''
Presentation at the Temple The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (or ''in the temple'') is an early episode in the life of Jesus Christ, describing his presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem, that is celebrated by many churches 40 days after Christmas on Candlemas, ...
'' (c. 1455) - Tempera on wood, 68.9 × 86.3 cm, Staatliche Museen, Berlin, Germany *'' Madonna and Child with Saint Jerome and Saint Louis of Toulouse'' (c. 1455) - Tempera on panel, Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris *''
Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...
'' (1457–1459) - Wood, 67 × 93 cm,
Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
, Paris
*'' Christ as the Suffering Redeemer'' (1495–1500) - Tempera on wood, 78 × 48 cm,
Statens Museum for Kunst The National Gallery of Denmark ( da, Statens Museum for Kunst, also known as "SMK", literally State Museum for Art) is the Danish national gallery, located in the centre of Copenhagen. The museum collects, registers, maintains, researches and han ...
, Copenhagen, Denmark
*''
Agony in the Garden The Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane is an episode in the life of Jesus. After the Last Supper, Jesus enters a garden where he experiences great anguish and prays to be delivered from his impending death on the cross ("Take this cup from me") ...
'' (c. 1459) - Tempera on wood, 63 × 80 cm,
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...
, London
*'' Portrait of Cardinal Ludovico Trevisan'', (c. 1459–1460) - Tempera on wood, 44 × 33 cm,
Staatliche Museen The Berlin State Museums (german: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) are a group of institutions in Berlin, Germany, comprising seventeen museums in five clusters, several research institutes, libraries, and supporting facilities. They are overseen ...
, Berlin
*''
St. Bernardino of Siena between Two Angels ''St. Bernardino of Siena between Two Angels'' is a painting attributed to the Italian Renaissance artist Andrea Mantegna and his assistants, dated to 1460 and housed in the Pinacoteca di Brera of Milan. The painting was located in the funerary ch ...
'', (attributed, 1460) - Tempera on canvas, 385 × 220 cm,
Pinacoteca di Brera The Pinacoteca di Brera ("Brera Art Gallery") is the main public gallery for paintings in Milan, Italy. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings from the 13th to the 20th century, an outgrowth of the cultural program of ...
, Milan
*'' Portrait of a Man'' (c. 1460–1470) - Wood, 24.2 × 19 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., US *''
Death of the Virgin The Death of the Virgin Mary is a common subject in Western Christian art, the equivalent of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Eastern Orthodox art. This depiction became less common as the doctrine of the Assumption gained support in the Roma ...
'' (c. 1461) - Panel, 54 × 42 cm, Museo del Prado, Madrid *'' Portrait of Francesco Gonzaga'' (c. 1461) - Panel, 25 × 18 cm,
Capodimonte Museum Museo di Capodimonte is an art museum located in the Palace of Capodimonte, a grand Bourbon palazzo in Naples, Italy. The museum is the prime repository of Neapolitan painting and decorative art, with several important works from other Ital ...
, Naples
*'' Madonna with Sleeping Child'' (c. 1465–1470) - Oil on canvas, 43x32 cm, Staatliche Museen, Berlin *'' St. George'' (c. 1460) - Tempera on panel, 66 × 32 cm,
Gallerie dell'Accademia The Gallerie dell'Accademia is a museum gallery of pre-19th-century art in Venice, northern Italy. It is housed in the Scuola della Carità on the south bank of the Grand Canal, within the sestiere of Dorsoduro. It was originally the gallery o ...
, Venice
*''
San Zeno Altarpiece The ''San Zeno Altarpiece'' is a triptych by the Italian Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna, from c. 1457–1460. It is located in the Basilica di San Zeno, the main church of Verona. The three predellas, stripped by the French in 1797 al ...
'' (1457–1460) - Panel, 480 × 450 cm, San Zeno,
Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...
*'' St. Sebastian'' (c. 1457–1459) - Wood, 68 × 30 cm, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna *'' St. Sebastian'' - Panel, 255 × 140 cm, Louvre, Paris *''
Adoration of the Magi The Adoration of the Magi or Adoration of the Kings is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a star, ...
'' (1462) - Tempera on panel, 76 × 76.5 cm, Uffizi, Florence *'' The Ascension'' (1462) - Tempera on panel, 86 × 42.5 cm, Uffizi, Florence *'' The Circumcision'' (1462–1464) - Tempera on panel, 86 × 42.5 cm, Uffizi, Florence *''
Portrait of Carlo de' Medici The ''Portrait of Carlo de' Medici'' is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Andrea Mantegna, executed in 1466. It is now housed in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence. History Little is known about the painting's origins, and currently the mo ...
'' (c. 1459–1466) - Tempera on panel, 40.6 × 29.5 cm,
Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...
, Florence
*'' The Madonna of the Cherubim'' (c. 1485) - Panel, 88 × 70 cm,
Pinacoteca di Brera The Pinacoteca di Brera ("Brera Art Gallery") is the main public gallery for paintings in Milan, Italy. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings from the 13th to the 20th century, an outgrowth of the cultural program of ...
, Milan
*''
Triumphs of Caesar The ''Triumphs of Caesar'' are a series of nine large paintings created by the Italian Renaissance artist Andrea Mantegna between 1484 and 1492 for the Gonzaga Ducal Palace, Mantua. They depict a triumphal military parade celebrating the victor ...
'' (c. 1486) - Hampton Court Palace, England *'' The Lamentation over the Dead Christ'' (c. 1490) - Tempera on canvas, 68 × 81 cm, Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan *'' Madonna of the Caves'' (1489–1490) - Uffizi, Florence *'' St. Sebastian'' (1490) - Panel, 68 × 30 cm,
Ca' d'Oro The Ca' d'Oro or Palazzo Santa Sofia is a palace on the Grand Canal in Venice, northern Italy. One of the older palaces in the city, its name means "golden house" due to the gilt and polychrome external decorations which once adorned its walls. ...
,
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
*''
Madonna della Vittoria The ''Madonna della Vittoria'' is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna; the painting was executed in 1496. History On 6 July 1495 the French army of Charles VIII of France, retreating from Italy after the French Invasi ...
'' (1495) - Tempera on canvas, 285 × 168 cm, Louvre, Paris *'' Ecce homo'' (1500)- Tempera on canvas, 54 × 72 cm,
Musée Jacquemart-André The Musée Jacquemart-André ( en, Jacquemart-André Museum) is a private museum located at 158 Boulevard Haussmann in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. The museum was created from the private home of Édouard André (1833–1894) and Nélie Jacq ...
, Paris
*''
Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on, but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the fir ...
'' (c. 1495–1500) - Tempera on canvas, 75.5 × 61.5 cm, The Dresden Gallery,
Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
*'' Judith and Holofernes'' (1495) - Egg-tempera on wood, National Gallery of Art, Washington *'' Trivulzio Madonna'' (1497) - Tempera on canvas, 287 × 214 cm, Museo Civico d'Arte Antica, Milan *'' Parnassus (Mars and Venus)'' (1497) - Canvas, 160 × 192 cm, Louvre, Paris *'' Minerva Chases the Vices from the Garden of Virtue'' (c. 1502) Oil on canvas, 160 × 192 cm, Louvre, Paris Mantegna's only known sculpture is a ''Sant'Eufemia'' in the Cathedral of
Irsina Irsina, until 1895 called Montepeloso (in local dialect: or ), is a town, ''comune'' (municipality) and former Latin bishopric in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. The town Irsina is an agricultural town p ...
, Basilicata.


Notes


References

* *Janson, H.W., Janson, Anthony F.''History of Art''. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers. 6 edition. January 1, 2005. *''Early Italian Engravings from the National Gallery of Art''; J.A. Levinson (ed); National Gallery of Art, 1973, LOC 7379624 *Martineau, Jane (ed.), Suzanne Boorsch (ed.). ''Andrea Mantegna'' (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art; London: Royal Academy of Arts, 1992) Exhibition Catalog: Metropolitan Museum of Art; Royal Academy of Arts * * Berger, John and Katya, ''Lying Down to Sleep''. Corraini Edizioni. 2010.


External links


Links to all the engravings; see section B
* ttp://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/94303/rec/1 ''Prints & People: A Social History of Printed Pictures'' an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Mantegna (see index)
Works by Andrea Mantegna
at the National Gallery, London]
Andrea Mantegna
at the National Gallery of Art {{DEFAULTSORT:Mantegna, Andrea Andrea Mantegna, 15th-century antiquarians 15th-century engravers 15th-century Italian painters 16th-century antiquarians 16th-century Italian painters 1430s births 1506 deaths Catholic engravers Catholic painters Court painters Italian engravers Italian male painters Italian Renaissance painters People from the Province of Padua Quattrocento painters