Mantegna and Bellini Masters of the Renaissance

For the first time, the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and the National Gallery, London are presenting the intricately related work of the artists Andrea Mantegna (ca. 1431-1506) and Giovanni Bellini (ca. 1435-1516). With around 100 works, this will be the first full-scale exhibition to present the work of these two masters of the Italian Renaissance side by side.

Andrea Mantegna

Die Darbringung Christi im Tempel, ca. 1453, Leinwand, 77,1 x 94,4 cm

© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Christoph Schmidt

Giovanni Bellini, Die Darbringung Christi im Tempel, ca. 1472

Holz, 80 x 105 cm

In 1453 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.

Andrea Mantegna, Christus am Ölberg, um 1458-60

Holz, 62,9 x 80 cm, erworben 1894

© The National Gallery, London

Giovanni Bellini, Christus am Ölberg, um 1465

Holz, 81,3 x 127 cm, erworben 1863

© The National Gallery, London

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.

Andrea Mantegna, Der Heiliger Sebastian, ca. 1459-60

Pappelholz, 68 x 30 cm

© Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Gemäldegalerie

Giovanni Bellini, Der tote Christus, von Engeln gestützt, um 1475

Pappelholz, 82,9 x 66,9 cm

© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Jörg P. Anders

The collections of the National Gallery and the Gemäldegalerie boast an extraordinary range of high-quality works by Mantegna and Bellini. The collections include masterpieces from all creative phases of these two extraordinary artists. Additionally, the Kupferstichkabinett and the British Museum house rich collections of works on paper by Mantegna and Bellini, by their family members, and by their protégés. Around this nucleus, the exhibition gathers together a number of outstanding loans. This allows the differences and similarities in the work of these two major artists of the Renaissance to be teased out in an exemplary fashion. These unexpected connections and breathtaking juxtapositions make up the unique attraction of this exhibition.

Andrea Mantegna

Maria mit schlafenden Kind, um 1455, Leinwand, 48,4 x 32,2 cm

© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Jörg P. Anders

Giovanni Bellini, Maria mit Kind, ca. 1475, Pappelholz, 76 x 54,2 cm

© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Jörg P. Anders

A special exhibition of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and the National Gallery, Londond in cooperation with the British Museum. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier serves as patron of this exhibition, which is generously sponsored by Kaiser Friedrich Museumsverein.

The exhibition is on display in the National Gallery, London from 1 October 2018 until 27 January 2019.