| San Zeno Altarpiece | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Andrea Mantegna |
| Year | c. 1456–1459 |
| Medium | Tempera on panel |
| Dimensions | 212 cm × 460 cm (83 in × 180 in) |
| Location | Basilica di San Zeno, Verona |
The San Zeno Altarpiece is a polyptych altarpiece by the Italian Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna created around 1456–1459.[1] It remains in situ in the Basilica di San Zeno, the main church of the Northern Italian city of Verona.[2][3] Mantegna's style mixes Greco-Roman classical themes along with Christian subjects in this altarpiece.[4] The central panel, along with the three paintings that comprise the predella, were taken in 1797 by the French.[3][5] While the main, central scene was returned by the French to Verona in 1815, the three predella paintings in Verona today are copies, since the original ones remain in France at the Louvre (Crucifixion) and in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Tours (Resurrection and Agony in the Garden).[6] The paintings are made with tempera on panel;[5][6] [7] not oil as mistakenly identified in one source.[3]
YouTube Encyclopedic
-
1/5Views:22 9934 06419 0893 832930
-
Andrea Mantegna, San Zeno Altarpiece
-
Mantegna (parte 1 di 2)
-
Mantegna, Dead Christ, c. 1490
-
Andrea Mantegna | Cristo morto
-
Andrea Mantegna, San Zeno Sunağı, 1456-59 (Sanat Tarihi)
Transcription
(music) ("In The Sky With Diamonds" by Scalding Lucy) Beth: We're in the Basilica of San Zeno in the town of Verona in northern Italy looking at an altarpiece in situ by the great Renaissance artist, Andrea Mantegna. Steven: This is an altarpiece that has one foot in the older traditions of the Trecento and one foot that's beginning to move into a much more sophisticated understanding of pictorial space. So on the one hand, you have this frame which we think may be original to Mantegna himself which divides the main scene into three sections with these four Corinthian columns we're calling the Classical paths. Beth: So you might think about that older Trecento 1300s tradition of an altarpiece with and an image of Mary and Christ in the center with separate panels within a larger frame. Steven: But Mantegna's image behind the columns is a insistently continuous. Beth: Instead of very separate panels with figures with a gold background, Mantegna's unified that space behind the frame so that the figures really seem to occupy a very real space created with the illusion of linear perspective. Steven: That's not completely unheard of before Mantegna, but he's also pairing the actual physical wooden carved frame columns with more classicizing columns in the pictorial space immediately behind them. Beth: So those columns in the front that are real, are coming into our space, right? They're real columns. And the garland that unites them seem to be on that edge of our space and the pictorial space. And then we move back where we see Mary holding the Christ child on her lap, angels around her singing and playing music. On either side, four saints in this space showing us the court of heaven, but it's a christian heaven in an insistently classical, antique, pegan space. This is a kind of painting called a "sacra conversazione", a sacred conversation or holy community. Steven: You have to gather in one pictorial space figures that come from different historical periods. If we start all the way on the left, you see a figure with a red undergarment and a yellow mantle on top. He's holding keys so that's Saint Peter. Beth: Behind Saint Peter is Saint Paul, behind him, Saint John. Steven: Saint John looks sensitive as is traditional, almost feminine. Finally, the fourth figure on the left in the back, is Saint Zeno, the namesake for this church and somebody we think was the person who brought christianity to the town of Verona. Beth: And is the patron saint of Verona. Steven: On the other side of the Virgin Mary, in the front, there is this extraordinary rendering of Saint John the Baptist. Look at the S-curve of that body. This is a christian figure, but links christian tradition back to the classical tradition. That body is just a tour de force example of contrapposto. Beth: That's right. Mantegna we know was devoted to studying ancient Greek and Roman antiquities and it's so obvious that he's been looking at classical sculpture with that figure of John the Baptist. And it's not just in the tilt of his hips and that contrapposto in the S-curve, it's also just an amazing naturalism of his pose, the way he looks down, reads the book, that he holds the book. He's so believable and he's so close to us we can imagine him as a real figure about to step out of that painting. Steven: That's the thing that grabs me, the vividness, the use of oil paint with a kind of linear quality that Mantegna brings to his paintings with a careful use of light which, by the way, reflects the way the light is actually entering into this church, all of which creates this really intense illusionism. Beth: These are real figures that we can engage with. These are figures that we can pray to who will intercede on our behalf with Christ. But we also know at the same time, given all of that accessibility, that we're looking at an image of the court of heaven and that one day perhaps through our own prayers, through our own good works, we could hope to join the blessed in heaven. So like in, for example, Mantegna's Saint Sebastian, we have a contrast between the classical path which is represented by those sculptures in [Grazei] that we see and there's some carving in the [freeze] and in the [roundels]. Then we have the christian present in this painting, full color in the figures in the court of heaven. The altarpiece in this guild frame is within the apse of this church, decorated with fresco from a century or two earlier. Steven: Because that's true fresco paint applied directly on wet plaster, it's lost a vividness of its color because it mixes with the white of the plaster. It makes the oil painting of Mantegna all the more brilliant, all the more saturated. Beth: We can see how oil paint could create a realism in texture and form that was really impossible with the earlier medium of fresco or even tempera. Steven: It must have felt like a kind of early technicolor. Beth: For the people of Verona in the 1460s. Steven: This painting has had an interesting history. We're not the only people who admired it. Napoleon admired it and in fact, brought it back to Paris. It was returned after Napoleon lost power, but not entirely. If you look down at the predella, you can see that there are additional scenes and those have not been returned. The are en tour and they're in Paris. (music) ("In The Sky With Diamonds" by Scalding Lucy)
Patron and commission
The San Zeno Altarpiece was commissioned around 1456 to 1459 by Gregorio Correr, a Venetian nobleman, humanist scholar, and administrator for and abbot of the Church of San Zeno.[7] The San Zeno altarpiece was commissioned and made to depict a heavenly realm.[5][7] This was intended so the viewers would aspire for a position in the "court of heaven" in communion with the religious figures portrayed in the altarpiece.[1][3][5] Furthermore, St. Zeno the patron saint of Verona, is believed to have introduced Christianity to Verona, therefore this altarpiece is named in his honor.[3] After his work on the San Zeno Altarpiece, Mantegna finally arrived in Mantua in the year 1460 to serve as the court artist to the House of Gonzaga, the leading princely family of the city.[5] Mantegna had actually been hired by Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, three years before, in 1457, but disagreements about Mantegna's pay and status delayed his arrival and it was during this period of postponement that he worked on the San Zeno Altarpiece.[5][7]
Style, subject and description of the San Zeno Altarpiece
The San Zeno Altarpiece is often considered to be a pictorial rendition of the artist Donatello's sculpted bronze reliefs (known as the Santo Altarpiece) made for the high altar dedicated to Sant'Antonio (c. 1446-1453) in the Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua.[6][5][7] While sometimes described as "lost" this work by Donatello survives but was incorrectly restored in the 19th century, thereby losing some of the artist's initial design and it has been argued by scholars that Mategna's work may better illustrate what Donatello originally intended.[6]
Mantegna incorporated noticeably bright and rich colors of reds, blues, yellows and green that was likely a reaction to earlier critics who had negatively commented on the opaque colors in the famous frescos painted from 1454 to 1457 (destroyed in 1944) in the Ovetari Chapel.[7] Despite seeing other artists change their color schemes he stuck to his own ideas and own techniques, which differentiated Mantegna from other Renaissance artists.[8] The scholars Steven Zucker and Beth Harris note that the ancient, classical "past" is mostly painted in shades of grays, painted in the style of grisaille (an exception is the colorful garlands of fruit that are tied with red ribbons), while the Christian elements, show in the "present", are denoted by the use of bright, saturating colors.[3]
The altarpiece consists of a frame, a central painting separated into three main sections, and on the bottom, a predella with three paintings that depict biblical scenes.[7]
Central and side panels
The central section of the painting displays the Madonna and Child sitting on a marble throne, surrounded by eight saints.[6] These eight saints are placed on the side panels that flank the central figures of the Madonna and child; this was done according to the patron's preferences: on the left are Saint Peter (in a yellow cloak holding a set of keys); Saint Paul (wearing a light purple cloak); Saint John the Evangelist (in a green cloak shown looking into a book he holds); and Saint Zeno (shown as bishop and wearing a mitre); on the right are Saint Benedict (wearing a dark blue cloak and holding a book); Saint Lawrence (wearing a dark green dalmatic); Saint Gregory (shown as a bishop wearing a mitre, a red cloak, white gloves, holding a book and crozier); and Saint John the Baptist (wearing red, reading a book, and shown in contrapposto).[3] The subjects are shown gathered in a classical temple, adorned with pagan and mythological subjects.[5] This painting illustrates a sacra conversazione (sacred conversation), also translated as "Holy Community".[1] This subject originated in an Italian painting during the Trecento and refers to an assembly of saints from different periods of history, while surrounding the Madonna and child.[1]
Mantegna's depiction of the figures, specifically that of St. John the Baptist, illustrates his use of contrapposto, as seen in the figure of Saint John the Baptist, thereby highlighting the harmony of classical and Christian iconography.[3] The entire composition, which recalls an outdoor loggia, is full of detail referring to classical antiquity: the carved Corinthian engaged columns of the gilded frame (see below: frame) help create the allusion to a classical, pagan temple with a foreground decorated with classical garlands of foliage and fruit tied together with red ribbons.[6][5] In the background of the temple is a continuous decorative frieze that include playful putti holding cornucopia overspilling with fruit.[3][5] Above this frieze is a classic egg-and-dart motif that serves as a border. On the square pilasters surrounding the loggia, there are tondi (circular roundels) that illustrate mythological scenes.[6][5] Likewise, the carved marble throne is reminiscent of an ancient Roman sarcophagus.[6] Surrounding the enthroned Madonna and Child are a group of "Donatellesque" (in the style of Donatello) angels that play musical instruments, specifically the lute, or sing from song books that they hold.[6][7]
Predella
On the bottom portion of the altarpiece, three paintings are displayed in the predella of the altarpiece. These paintings portray biblical scenes that occurred in Jerusalem, like the Crucifixion of Jesus and the Agony in the Garden.[5][6] While the altarpiece remains in situ, the three paintings of the predella were stolen by Napoleon and have not been returned; those seen in the altarpiece today are all copies, while the originals remain in two different French museums.[6] The image of the Crucifixion is at the Louvre Museum in Paris, while the scenes of the Resurrection and Agony in the Garden are in Tours at the Musée des Beaux-Arts.[4] Despite being smaller components of this altarpiece, these paintings display Mantegna's attention to detail and precision as an artist in his quest to render a memorable and historical depiction of the Passion of Christ in Italian art.[6][7]
Frame
The frame is carved from wood that has been gilded. Four Corinthian columns serve as engaged columns that divide the three scenes of the central panel, as well as the three scenes of the predella.[6] The frame has been described as a portico or façade to the actual painted central scene, which is set in a pagan temple (see above: Central and side panels).[6][7] The frame has a rounded pediment and entablature that recalls the architectural elements of an Ancient Greek temple.[6] Despite the separating the scenes, the painting behind these carved Corinthian columns is continuous.[3] In fact, if looking closely, the real carved Corinthian columns of the frame are placed directly in front of the painted square pilasters that have the Ionic order of column capitals; this superimposition blends together the carving of the frame with the painted illusionism of the pagan temple of the central scene.[3][6] Stylistically, Mantegna's use of a continuous narrative that unfolded behind the carved columns and the painted square pilasters creates a unified pictorial plane.[3] This approach was markedly different than the approach popular during the Trecento, which demarcated individual scenes by these architectural dividers and thus there was not a continuous narrative across the pictorial space.[3] An example of this non-continuous narrative with the use of gold columns that spatially divide the scenes can be found in Giotto's Badia Polyptych from around 1300.[3]
While the frame is original, the decoration that originally ornamented the center of the pediment has been lost.[6]
Imagery, symbolism, and technique
Oil lamp, ostrich egg, and rosary
Hanging above the Madonna and in between the festooned garlands hangs a burning oil lamp with a flame, surmounted by a large ostrich egg, symbolizing the Virgin birth.[6] Ostrich eggs were typically hung over altars that were dedicated to the Virgin Mary and can be found in later Italian Renaissance paintings, including Pierro della Francesca's Brera Madonna(1472) and Giovanni Bellini's San Zaccaria Altarpiece (1505).[6] Below the oil lamp is a strand of red rosary beads.[6]
References to the East: Pseudo-Arabic Script and Oriental Carpet
Mantegna utilized pseudo-Arabic script to portray the holiness of the saints painted in the altarpiece.[9] Pseudo-Arabic script is a kind of writing that has no linguistic or actual meaning, but rather is a kind of script inspired by the Arabic alphabet.[9] This script can be seen in the garments, and haloes surrounding the Madonna and Child, function to further emphasize their greatness and holiness.[9] The incorporation of the pseudo-Arabic script in these specific areas is an idea that is borrowed from the Islamic embroidered textiles, known as tiraz.[9] In addition, the illusionistic portrayal of an oriental carpet in this Renaissance painting, found draped at the foot of the throne on which the Madonna sits, functions as both an expensive and honorific covering, but also allowed Mantegna to show off his skill a painting such a finely crafted object that was produced solely in Islamic lands.[9] Furthermore, the oriental carpet spatially demarcated the space of the Madonna as holy and sacred.[9] A similar Italian Renaissance example can be found in Lorenzzo Lotto's St Antoninus Giving Alms (completed in 1542), which shows two oriental carpets (referred to as Lotto Carpet). [9]
Linear perspective
Another technique Mantegna employed in the San Zeno Altarpiece was linear point perspective in order to enhance the continuous image behind the pillars so as to make the image appear more realistic to the external world.[3] The illusionism of the image was further achieved through the real four wooden carved columns of the frame, which are located in the space of the viewer, are unified with the painted garlands that are located in the immediate foreground of the pictorial space.[1][3] Moreover, Mantegna's use of perspective allows the saints and several of the architectural elements and decorations to recede into the space, furthering the illusion of depth.[1][3] Mantenga's convincing spatial depth found in the San Zeno Altarpiece began a stylistic and technical tradition that would continue on through the Cinquecento in other illusionistic altarpieces by Giovanni Bellini, including: San Giobbe Altarpiece (1487); Frari Triptych (1488); San Zaccaria Altarpiece (1505).[6]
Provenance
The San Zeno Altarpiece was originally created for the Basilica of San Zeno in the town of Verona in northern Italy and currently still stands there.[3] As described above (see: predella), Napoleon stripped the panel apart, taking the central panel, as well as the three predella paintings to Paris in 1797.[3] Only the central panel was returned after Napoleon lost power in 1815, but the three original predella have never been returned, and thus those seen in the altarpiece today are copies.[3][7]
Predella
-
The central panel (The Crucifixion) -
Detail of the central panel -
Detail of the central panel
References
- ^ a b c d e f Thürlemann, Felix; McKee, Cheryl Spiese (1989). "Fictionality in Mantegna's San Zeno Altarpiece Structures of Mimesis and the History of Painting". New Literary History. 20 (3): 747–761. doi:10.2307/469365. ISSN 0028-6087. JSTOR 469365 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Mantegna, Andrea (April 1456), "La Crucifixion", Louvre, retrieved 2023-04-24
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Zucker, Steven; Harris, Beth (2015). "Andrea Mantegna, San Zeno Altarpiece". smarthistory.org. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
- ^ a b De Marchi, Andrea; Del Puppo, Alessandro; Eveno, Myriam; Gilet, Annie; Ravaud, Elisabeth; Winling, Christel (June 2009). "Andrea Mantegna: La Prédelle de San Zeno de Vérone 1457-1459" (PDF). Musée des Beaux-Arts / Tours.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Campbell, Stephen J.; Cole, Michael Wayne (2012). Italian Renaissance art. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson. pp. 163–165, 219. ISBN 978-0-500-28943-3. OCLC 755982774.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Hartt, Frederick; Wilkins, David G. (2011). History of Italian Renaissance Art: Painting, Sculpture, Srchitecture (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. pp. 290, 399–403. ISBN 978-0-205-70581-8. OCLC 430523019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Paoletti, John T.; Radke, Gary M. (2005). Art, Power, and Patronage in Renaissance Italy (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall. pp. 264–265, 323–324. ISBN 0-13-193510-0. OCLC 57625761.
- ^ Manca, Joseph (2006). Andrea Mantegna and the Italian Renaissance. Temporis Collection. New York, N.Y.: Parkstone. ISBN 978-1-85995-012-8. OCLC 793996522.
- ^ a b c d e f g Christian, Kathleen; Clark, Leah Ruth (2017). European Art and the Wider World, 1350-1550. Kathleen Christian, Leah Ruth Clark. Manchester: Manchester University Press; The Open University. ISBN 978-1-5261-2291-9. OCLC 1200306384.
External links
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 A study made for the painting, now at the Getty Museum | |
 Andrea Mantegna, San Zeno Altarpiece, Smarthistory |
This page was last edited on 4 December 2023, at 01:17