Thursday, June 30, 2022

Andrea Mantegna (ca. 1431-1506) - Padua to Mantua

Andrea Mantegna
Minerva expelling the Vices from the Garden of Virtue (detail)
1502
tempera and oil on canvas
Musée du Louvre

Andrea Mantegna
Minerva expelling the Vices from the Garden of Virtue (detail)
1502
tempera and oil on canvas
Musée du Louvre

Andrea Mantegna
Minerva expelling the Vices from the Garden of Virtue (detail)
1502
tempera and oil on canvas
Musée du Louvre

Andrea Mantegna
Samson and Delilah
ca. 1495-1506
distemper on canvas
National Gallery, London

Andrea Mantegna
Introduction of the Cult of Cybele at Rome
ca. 1505-1506
distemper on canvas
National Gallery, London

Andrea Mantegna
Introduction of the Cult of Cybele (detail)
ca. 1505-1506
distemper on canvas
National Gallery, London

Andrea Mantegna
Introduction of the Cult of Cybele (detail)
ca. 1505-1506
distemper on canvas
National Gallery, London

Andrea Mantegna
Introduction of the Cult of Cybele (detail)
ca. 1505-1506
distemper on canvas
National Gallery, London

Andrea Mantegna
Holy Family with St John the Baptist
ca. 1500
distemper on canvas
National Gallery, London

Andrea Mantegna
Holy Family with Mary Magdalen
(Castelvecchio Madonna)
1495
tempera on canvas
Museo di Castelvecchio, Verona

Andrea Mantegna
Holy Family
with St Elizabeth and St John the Baptist

ca. 1485-88
distemper and oil on canvas
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas

Andrea Mantegna
Virgin and Child
with St John the Baptist and Mary Magdalen

1498
tempera on canvas
National Gallery, London

Andrea Mantegna
St Sebastian
ca. 1480
tempera on canvas
Musée du Louvre

Andrea Mantegna
St Sebastian
ca. 1457-59
tempera on panel
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Andrea Mantegna
St Mark the Evangelist
ca. 1450
tempera and oil on canvas
Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt

"Mantegna was born near Padua and apprenticed under a local painter called Squarcione.  Believing his talents were being exploited, the ambitious young artist broke their agreement and in 1453 married into the rival Venetian firm of the Bellinis.  He worked in Padua, Verona and Venice before moving to Mantua in 1460, where he spent the rest of his life, developing a painting technique that allowed him to imitate the look of classical sculpture.  Mantegna's scholarly interest in the antique drew him into friendship with humanist scholars like Felice Feliciano.  In 1464 they dressed up as Romans for a boating excursion on Lake Garda.  In 1484 Mantegna was knighted by his Gonzaga patrons, a rare honour for an artist in this period."    

– from curator's notes at the National Gallery, London