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    Delphi Complete Paintings of Andrea Mantegna (Illustrated)
    Delphi Complete Paintings of Andrea Mantegna (Illustrated)
    Delphi Complete Paintings of Andrea Mantegna (Illustrated)
    Ebook575 pages1 hour

    Delphi Complete Paintings of Andrea Mantegna (Illustrated)

    By Andrea Mantegna

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    About this ebook

    The most important northern Italian artist of the early Renaissance, Andrea Mantegna was a student of Roman archaeology and the son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini. A pioneering master of perspective, Mantegna used pictorial devices such as extreme foreshortening, lowering the horizon to create greater monumentality and rendering his figures as more rounded and modelled, with Donatellian naturalism. His masterpieces are renowned for their minute attention to detail, rendering rocky and metallic landscapes with a fundamentally sculptural approach to painting. His paintings were highly sought after by Europe’s royal houses, while Dürer, Rubens and Rembrandt are just a few of the artists that copied and learnt from his works. Delphi’s Masters of Art Series presents the world’s first digital e-Art books, allowing readers to explore the works of great artists in comprehensive detail. This volume presents Mantegna’s complete paintings in beautiful detail, with concise introductions, hundreds of high quality images and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1)


    * The complete paintings of Andrea Mantegna – over 200 images, fully indexed and arranged in chronological and alphabetical order
    * Includes reproductions of rare works
    * Features a special ‘Highlights’ section, with concise introductions to the masterpieces, giving valuable contextual information
    * Enlarged ‘Detail’ images, allowing you to explore Mantegna’s celebrated works in detail, as featured in traditional art books
    * Hundreds of images in colour – highly recommended for viewing on tablets and smart phones or as a valuable reference tool on more conventional eReaders
    * Special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the paintings
    * Easily locate the artworks you wish to view
    * Includes a selection of Mantegna's drawings and sculptures – explore the artist’s varied works
    * Features three bonus biographies, including Giorgio Vasari’s seminal life of the artist – discover Mantegna's world


    Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting e-Art books


    CONTENTS:


    The Highlights
    Scenes from the Life of Saint James
    Adoration of the Shepherds
    Saint Luke Altarpiece
    San Zeno Altarpiece
    Agony in the Garden
    Presentation at the Temple
    Adoration of the Magi
    Saint Sebastian
    Portrait of Carlo de’ Medici
    Camera degli Sposi
    Lamentation of Christ
    Pietà
    Madonna of the Quarry
    The Triumphs of Caesar
    Parnassus
    The Triumph of the Virtues
    Samson and Delilah


    The Paintings
    The Complete Paintings
    Alphabetical List of Paintings


    The Drawings and Sculptures
    List of Other Artworks


    The Biographies
    Andrea Mantegna by Giorgio Vasari
    Andrea Mantegna by N. D’Anvers
    Andrea Mantegna by William Michael Rossetti


    Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to browse through our range of exciting titles or to buy the whole Art series as a Super Set

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDelphi Classics Ltd
    Release dateMay 2, 2020
    ISBN9781913487140
    Delphi Complete Paintings of Andrea Mantegna (Illustrated)

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      Book preview

      Delphi Complete Paintings of Andrea Mantegna (Illustrated) - Andrea Mantegna

      Andrea Mantegna

      (c. 1431-1506)

      Contents

      The Highlights

      Scenes from the Life of Saint James

      Adoration of the Shepherds

      Saint Luke Altarpiece

      San Zeno Altarpiece

      Agony in the Garden

      Presentation at the Temple

      Adoration of the Magi

      Saint Sebastian

      Portrait of Carlo de’ Medici

      Camera degli Sposi

      Lamentation of Christ

      Pietà

      Madonna of the Quarry

      The Triumphs of Caesar

      Parnassus

      The Triumph of the Virtues

      Samson and Delilah

      The Paintings

      The Complete Paintings

      Alphabetical List of Paintings

      The Drawings and Sculptures

      List of Other Artworks

      The Biographies

      Andrea Mantegna by Giorgio Vasari

      Andrea Mantegna by N. D’Anvers

      Andrea Mantegna by William Michael Rossetti

      The Delphi Classics Catalogue

      © Delphi Classics 2020

      Version 1

      Browse our Art eBooks…

      Buy the entire Masters of Art Series at a reduced price

      Masters of Art Series

      Andrea Mantegna

      By Delphi Classics, 2020

      COPYRIGHT

      Masters of Art - Andrea Mantegna

      First published in the United Kingdom in 2020 by Delphi Classics.

      © Delphi Classics, 2020.

      All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form other than that in which it is published.

      ISBN: 978 1 91348 714 0

      Delphi Classics

      is an imprint of

      Delphi Publishing Ltd

      Hastings, East Sussex

      United Kingdom

      Contact: sales@delphiclassics.com

      www.delphiclassics.com

      Enjoying our Art series of eBooks? Then try our Classical Music series:

      A first of its kind in digital print, the Delphi Great Composers series allows digital readers to explore the works of the world’s greatest composers in comprehensive detail, with interactive links to popular streaming services.

      Explore the series so far…

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      The Highlights

      Isola di Carturo (today Isola Mantegna), a village near Padua, Veneto — Mantegna’s birthplace

      Prato della Valle, Padua

      Illustration of Padua in the fifteenth century, from the Nuremberg Chronicle

      Supposed self portrait of Mantegna from ‘The Presentation of Christ in the Temple’, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, c. 1466

      The Highlights

      In this section, a sample of Mantegna’s most celebrated works is provided, with concise introductions, special ‘detail’ reproductions and additional biographical images.

      Scenes from the Life of Saint James

      THE MOST IMPORTANT northern Italian artist of the early Renaissance, Andrea Mantegna was born in c. 1430 at Isola di Carturo, a small town now named after the artist, near the major city of Padua. Very little information survives regarding his private life and origins; his date of birth was deduced from an inscription on a lost painting of 1448, which stated that he was seventeen years old. It is recorded that he was the son of a carpenter and he was adopted by Francesco Squarcione ten years later.  This second father appears to have laid the foundations for Mantegna’s artistic career, though their connection would eventually lead to a bitter falling out in 1448. Surviving documents list Squarcione as a tailor and embroiderer, who appears to have developed into an artist and teacher; only one painting, a Madonna and Child, survives from his output. However, Squarcione did have an extensive collection of ancient statues and casts — an invaluable resource for any aspiring young artist. Art historians have uncovered that Squarcione was in actuality a self-interested talent-scout of sorts, who managed to acquire numerous adopted sons, many of whom later rebelled against his exploitation.

      Squarcione’s sole surviving work, dated to 1449, reveals northern characteristics, as well as several hints of Tuscan influence. The harsh elements and vividly original style of the altarpiece is a good example of the prevailing style in Padua at the time. The emergence of Andrea del Castagno in northern Italy in 1422 had signalled the gradual end of the Gothic era, heralding a new Renaissance style, with leading exponents including Paolo Uccello and Filippo Lippi. The most important influence of this radically transformed style would come from none other than the great sculptor Donatello (1386-1466), who spent ten years in Padua, working on several projects for the Basilica del Santo.

      Donatello went on to develop and revolutionise a complete Renaissance style in sculpture over his long and productive career. He worked with stone, bronze, wood, clay, stucco and wax, employing numerous assistants.  In 1443, Donatello was called to Padua by the heirs of the famous condottiero Erasmo da Narni, who had died that year. Executed in 1450 and placed in the square facing the Basilica of Saint Anthony, his Equestrian Monument of Gattamelata was the first example of such a monument since ancient times. This statue would become the prototype for countless equestrian monuments executed in Italy and Europe in the following centuries. He appears to have demanded a measure of artistic freedom that was exceptional at the time. Though he associated with many prominent humanists, Donatello was not a cultured intellectual himself; nevertheless, his humanist friends stated that he was a connoisseur of ancient art. He possessed a more detailed and extensive knowledge of ancient sculpture than any other artist of his day, and much of his work was inspired by ancient visual examples, which he often developed into his own modern style. Favouring an approach to naturalism that was years ahead of his time, Donatello produced incredibly life-like statues that convey real emotions and dynamic power, wholly absent from the Gothic visual arts.  It was under these influences that the young Mantegna would foster his own unique artistic vision.

      One of Donatello’s assistants was Niccolo Pizzolo, who was widely exposed to the innovative Florentine style of his master. In 1448 Pizzolo also worked in collaboration with Mantegna on half of the fresco decoration of the Ovetari chapel in Padua’s Eremitani church. This ambitious project would be Mantegna’s first major commission.  The other half of the decoration scheme was allotted to Antonio Vivarini and Giovanni d’Alemagna. Unhappily, the fresco cycle was almost entirely destroyed by the Allied bombing of 1944 and so the majority of frescoes only survive in pre-war photographic reproductions. This has led to much uncertainty regarding the chronology and attribution to works.

      Antonio Ovetari was a Paduan notary, who bequeathed a large sum of 700 gold ducats for the decoration of his family chapel in the thirteenth century Church of the Eremitani. The project was superintended by his widow, Imperatrice Ovetari.  The church is adjacent to the Arena Chapel, with an interior decorated with the masterwork of Giotto.  Mantegna, at the tender age of seventeen, had only just begun his apprenticeship in Squarcione’s workshop, perhaps signalling his early signs of ability to be entrusted so soon. Ovetari had stipulated in his will an outline for the content of the interior decoration scheme. The chapel’s side walls would narrate tales from the lives of Saint James and Saint Christopher, while the apse wall with distinctive window apertures, would illustrate the Assumption of the Virgin.  Mantegna’s first paintings for the commission were likely on the left wall, now almost completely lost. The area was structured with a painted ornamental frame, with lifelike garlands of fruit appearing to hang and project out from the wall.  Mantegna’s surviving work portrays scenes from the legend of Saint James, divided into independent episodes, mostly sourced from the Legenda Aurea, a collection of saints’ lives by Jacobus de Voragine (1230-1298).  Firstly, in the top left, we see Christ’s calling of the brothers James and John to become disciples. This scene depicts a craggy cliff face — a recurring natural feature that will resurface throughout Mantegna’s long career. In the following scene to the right, Saint James preaches a sermon, revealing his progress as a spiritual leader. The pulpit and tall walls bear no affinity to the landscape of the previous scene, rendering it a separate scene of the narrative.

      The third scene, middle left, concerns Saint James baptising the magician Hermogenes, setting him free from his demons. To the right, we have the trial of Saint James, as Herod Agrippa condemns him to death. The two scenes are divided by a lone soldier that stares defiantly out of the fresco. Also, the architectural design is different in both scenes, as Herod’s court is framed of much larger Corinthian columns, compared to the simpler arches in the left scene. These devices allow the artist to indicate the separate narrative events.

      The last two scenes from Saint James’ life, occupying the bottom two sections, begin on the left with the miracle that occurs as the saint is being led to his execution. The scene is dominated by the sprawling crowd of the procession, which has come to a sudden stop. A lame man has hobbled to the saint’s feet and has been instantly healed. Whilst one soldier raises his arms in wonder, another looks on unimpressed. A third soldier pushes away a curious bystander, forming a dramatic contrast to the miraculous event. The final scene is The Martyrdom of Saint James. A telling feature of Mantegna’s style is his reluctance to employ overly-dramatic stances and poses. Instead, he likes to use other compositional devices to convey dynamism, including the replication of vast depth. In the bottom two scenes, the vanishing point is actually beneath the base line of the image; this allows the central figures to be seen immediately from below, giving them an imposing presence.  The feet of the other figures, positioned further back, cannot be seen at all. The overall effect of the now lost fresco must have been breathtaking for the Paduans attending church services, as they were at once drawn into the scared drama, viewing the events as though they were bystanders of the events.

      Alas, all would not run smooth with the project. A year after the initial commission, a personal disagreement between Mantegna and Pizzolo erupted, with the latter accusing the youngster of continuous interferences in the execution of the altarpiece. This led to a redistribution of the works among the artists; Mantegna is believed to have halted his work at this point and visited Ferrara. In 1450 Giovanni, who had executed only the decorative festoons of the vault, died; the following year Vivarini also left the project, after he had completed four Evangelists in the vault. They were replaced by Bono da Ferrara and Ansuino da Forlì, whose style reveals the influence of Piero della Francesca. Then Mantegna commenced work on the apse vault, where he placed three saints, mixed with the Doctors of the Church by Pizzolo. Later he probably moved to the lunette on the left wall, depicting the first two scenes of the life of Saint James, completed within 1450, before moving to the middle section.

      At the end of 1451 the works were halted once more; this time due to a lack of funds. They were restarted in November 1453 and completed finally

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