Table of contents:
- Mantegna and Bellini: biographies
- Controversial and greatest works of two masters
- Was there a relationship?
Video: Is it true that the greatest artists of the Renaissance were relatives: Mantegna and Bellini
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
The history of art is filled with family dynasties, but perhaps the most outstanding is the relationship between the son-in-law of Andrea Mantegna and Giovanni Bellini. They were friends and rivals at the same time. Mantegna and Bellini inspired, copied their work and admired each other. And they had such similar pictures that their possible relationship has been disputed for centuries.
Famous family ties in the art world: father and son such as Pieter Bruegel the Elder and the Younger; father and daughter - Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi, husband and wife - Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, uncle and nephew - Canaletto and Bernardo Bellotto, brothers - Paul and John Nash, brother and sister - August and Gwen John. Perhaps the most notable family tie, however, is that between Andrea Mantegna (circa 1430–1506) and Giovanni Bellini (circa 1435–1516), sons-in-law who were among the greatest artists of the Renaissance.
Mantegna and Bellini: biographies
Mantegna and Bellini were giants of 15th century Italian art. The two men came from very different backgrounds. Mantegna was the son of a carpenter who, according to the painter chronicler Giorgio Vasari, spent his childhood "grazing the flocks." However, his drawing skills quickly attracted the attention of a Padua artist named Squarchone, who adopted the boy and became his mentors. His life can be traced back to lawsuits. He went to court to avoid adoption by a gentleman who used his labor but did not pay him.
There was also a case against a wealthy patron, who believed that Mantegna deceived him by the number of angels on the created altar. There was a case when Mantegna went to court over the fact that he believed that the studio assistant was stealing his ideas. The 16th century biographer Giorgio Vasari called Mantegna "worthy of praise in all his actions" and predicted that "his memory will forever remain not only in his own country, but throughout the world." The date and place where he lived, the exact place of his grave are unknown, although he lived to be 86 years old. He died in Venice rich and revered.
Bellini, on the other hand, was born into an artistic family that belonged to the class of citizens of Venice - immediately after the nobility. His father Jacopo was already a leading artist in the republic, and although Giovanni was born illegitimate (it is not known who his real mother was), he was raised and trained alongside his gifted brother Gentile. The Bellini dynasty was the most famous artistic unit of the 15th century, working together on behalf of the dynasty. However, initially it was Gentile who was considered the most talented of the brothers.
In 1504, a Venetian art dealer wrote to Isabella d'Este, patroness of both artists: "No one can beat Mr. Andrea Mantegna in painting, in which he is the pinnacle of skill … But in color, Giovanni Bellini is excellent." Albrecht Dürer, a jealous appraiser of the talent of other artists, wrote of Bellini, who was then working at an advanced age, that "he is still the best artist of all."
Controversial and greatest works of two masters
In a small room in a former palace in Venice, a compelling painting is set on an easel at head height. In a former palace in Venice, an experiment was carried out that became for art critic Caroline Campbell a moment of greatest discovery. She is the curator of an exhibition at the National Gallery in London. In the course of the research, a drawing of the Berlin Jesus on an acetate sheet was superimposed on the Venetian version. The six central figures matched exactly. “Anyone with eyes could see that there was a relationship between the two artists,” Campbell said, “but this was the first convincing evidence that one person worked directly with the other.”
Both paintings allegedly depict the baby Jesus in the temple. The one in the Berlin Art Gallery in Berlin is considered to be the work of Andrea Mantegna. And the Venetian work has also been attributed to Mantegna. But the researchers found out that this is Bellini's work.
Was there a relationship?
It is known that Mantegna in 1453 married Bellini's sister Nicolosia - a beauty who was a model for the Virgin in his paintings. The marriage was probably contracted by her father Jacopo in order to have in the workshop a brilliant young master, better known than any of Jacopo's sons, Giovanni and Gentile. And most importantly, it had to be a person who does not need to be paid. Mantegna's spectacular pictorial inventions and his great interest in classical antiquity made a deep impression on his youngest son-in-law, Giovanni Bellini.
Although the two families continued to maintain warm contact, Jacopo was never able to implement his plan. After just ten years of close cooperation, they parted ways: in 1460, Andrea moved to Mantua, where he remained the court painter of the Gonzaga family until his death. The Bellini family spent their entire artistic career in Venice. Working in different environments, their artistic styles have evolved in a wide variety of directions.
Yes, Bellini flourished in Venice, but Mantegna's extravagant lifestyle and problems with the actual payment of his royal salary led to the fact that he died in poverty near the church, where he was later buried. The church is currently used as a contemporary art gallery. By the way, Mantegna's painting "Jesus in the Temple" may have been made to commemorate his marriage to Nicolosia and hope for a child. Campbell believes Bellini may have recreated it, including more family portraits to mark the death of his father, Jacopo.
Thus, Andrea Mantegna's brilliant compositional innovations and Giovanni Bellini's atmospheric natural landscapes were revolutionary in the art world.
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