Gemäldegalerie Berlin
01.03.-30.06.2019
Andrea Mantegna (ca. 1431–1506) and Giovanni Bellini (ca. 1435–1516) were friends, relatives and rivals. They inspired, copied and admired each other. For the first time, the intricately connected oeuvres of these two artists are being presented in a single exhibition, which was produced together with the National Gallery in London and with the cooperation of the British Museum.
Mantegna und Bellini
In 1452/3 the ambitious, dynamic painter and printmaker Andrea Mantegna, who was active in Padua, married into the Bellini family, who were among the leading painters in nearby Venice. Mantegna’s brilliant compositional innovations and his deep interest in classical antiquity made a major impact on his youngest brother-in-law, Giovanni Bellini. During this time, Bellini’s distinctive painterly style also made a deep impression on Mantegna’s work. After just 10 years of close collaboration, their paths parted. In 1460 Andrea moved to Mantua, where he remained Court Painter to the princely Gonzaga family until his death. Giovanni, on the other hand, spent his entire artistic career in Venice. They were active in very different environments, and their artistic styles developed in very different directions. Yet through all phases of their creative lives, their work provides evidence of their continuing artistic dialogue, something that can be sensed even today.
Giovanni Bellini, Maria with child, ca. 1475, Pappelholz © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Jörg P. Anders
Link to the exhibition: MANTEGA und BELLINI
