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Andrea Mantegna
In Padova, Verona and Mantova
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Title: Ritratto di san Bernardino da Siena
Artist: Andrea Mantegna (Italian ca. 1431-1506)
Medium: Tempera su tavola / Tempera on Wood
Dimensions: 28 x 19 cm.
Image Courtesy: Bergamo, Accademia Carrara
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To celebrate the great works of Italian Renaissance master Andrea Mantegna the cities of Padua, Verona and Mantua have collaborated on a
single exhibition to explore the artist's career.
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Padova
Andrea Mantegna began his artistic career as an apprentice to Francesco Squarcione in Padua. It ended, as did many of Squarcione's teaching assignments, in litigation
as his students felt he had exploited them and they invariably broke their apprentices with him.
Title: I santi Antonio e Bernardino da Siena presentano il monogramma di Cristo /
Saint Antonio and Bernardino of Siena present the Monogram of Christ
Artist: Andrea Mantegna (Italian ca. 1431-1506)
Medium: Affresco staccato
Dimensions: 163 x 321 cm
Image Courtesy: Padova, Museo Antoniano
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In 1448 at approximately age 17 Mantegna took his court action
against his former instructor to force his independence.
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Title: Dall’altare maggiore: Angeli cantori rivolti verso destra
Artist: Donatello (Italian ca. 1386-1466)
Image Courtesy: Padova, Basilica del Santo
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Verona
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Title: Sacra Famiglia / Holy Family
Artist: Andrea Mantegna (Italian ca. 1431-1506)
Photographer: Umberto Tomba
Image Courtesy: Museo di Castelvecchio, Verona
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Mantegna was the first artist to use prints, via engraving, as a method to
disseminate his art. His brother-in-law was Giovanni Bellini. Durer was a strong admirer.
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The artist has a sharp clarity of drawing, coloring and light in his works. He
had a passion for classical antiquity and liked to feature such imagery in his
artwork.
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Title: Pala di San Zeno (particolare)
Artist: Andrea Mantegna (Italian ca. 1431-1506)
Photographer: Fotoflash di Mario Polesel
Image Courtesy: Basilica di San Zeno Maggiore, Verona
Per gentile concessione dell’abate don Rino Breoni e della Curia Diocesana di Verona
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Title: Madonna con il Bambino e Santa Margherita / Madonna and Christ Child with Saint Margaret
Artist: Francesco Bonsignori (Italian 1455-1519)
Photographer: Umberto Tomba
Image Courtesy: Museo di Castelvecchio, Verona
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His mastery of perspective and foreshadowing was all but unmatched in
the 15th Century.
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Mantova
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Mantegna was appointed the court painter to Ludovico Gonzaga in Mantua in 1460 where he would spend the rest of his life but for a brief two year sojourn in Rome. The Gonzaga
family ruled Mantua (or Mantova) from 1328-1707.
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Title: Madonna col Bambino detta Madonna delle cave /
Madonna and Child called Madonna of the Cave
Artist: Andrea Mantegna (Italian ca. 1431-1506)
Medium: Tempera su Tavola / Tempera on Wood
Dimensions: 32 x 30 cm
Image Courtesy: Firenze, Galleria degli Uffizi
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Title: Minerva che caccia I vizi / Minerva chasing the Vices
Artist: Andrea Mantegna (Italian ca. 1431-1506)
Medium: Tempera su Tela / Tempera on Canvas
Dimensions: 160 x 192 cm
Image Courtesy: Musée du Louvre, Parris
In what was another first for artists Mantegna glorified his patrons.
He did this in his most famous work, a fresco decoration, created from 1465-1471 in the bridal chamber (Camera delgi Sposi)
of the Ducal Palace. The room sports an intriguing feature, an illusionistic ceiling painting that appears to extend the real space of the room.
Mantegna's new, difficult and exciting technique was called
Quadratura. It is the principle of taking an architectural element painted on walls or ceilings so that they appear to be an extension of the real architecture
of the room though
in an imaginary space. It was common in classical Roman art and revived by its fan Mantegna, finally reaching its peak in Baroque Italy.
The skill required was so great that though
Guercino and Tiepolo used this feature each had to turn to master quadraturistas in order to accomplish their views.
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Title: Madonna col Bambino e angeli /
Madonna with Child and Angels
Artist: Nicolò Solimani (Italian ca. 1462-1493)
Medium: Tempera su tavola / Tempera on Wood
Dimensions: 141 x 60 x 2.5 cm
Image Courtesy: Mantova, Museo di Palazzo d’Arco
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The camera degli Sposi was impressive in its decoration done during the early Renaissance. It was the first time an
artist covered the walls and ceilings in a single perspective scheme, going
so far as to coordinate the light in the frescoes with the light coming from the windows.
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Andrea Mantegna in three Italian cities: Padua, Verona and Mantova.
Andrea Mantegna
Andrea Mantegna 2006:
September 16, 2006 - January 14, 2007
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