Andrea Mantegna
1431-1506 Italy/Early Renaissance
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Brief Biography-Andrea Mantegna was born not far from Padua, where his parents of little means had him attending cattle in his youth. In Padua, he became an apprentice to a mediocre artist named Jacopo Squarcione, who adopted him as his son when realising Mantegna’s talents. Squarcione brought plaster casts and paintings from Tuscany and Rome for him to study. He also learned a great deal from his master’s other students. After Mantegna painted an exceptional picture for the grand altar in the Santa Sofia Church in Padua, Squarcione enlisted him and another of his pupils, Niccolò Pizzolo, to paint in the church of Sant’ Agostino in Padua. Pizzolo painted a notable panel of God the Father; however, his work abruptly ceased when he was murdered by an adversary while returning home one evening. Unfortunately, Pizzolo had more interest in arms and confrontation than in painting.
Jacopo Bellini, the father of Gentile and Giovanni, a competitor of Squarcione, arranged to have Mantegna marry his daughter in Venice. Squarcione was so enraged that he became Mantegna’s bitter enemy and critic. |
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