Mantegna and Bellini

An innovative study of the relationship between Andrea Mantegna and Giovanni Bellini, two masters of the Italian Renaissance

Andrea Mantegna (c. 1431–1506) and Giovanni Bellini (active c. 1459; died 1516) each produced groundbreaking paintings, marked by pictorial and technical innovations, that are among the masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance. Exploring the fruitful dynamic between Mantegna’s inventive compositional approach and interest in classical antiquity and Bellini’s passion for landscape painting, this fascinating volume examines how these two artists, who were also brothers-in-law, influenced and responded to each other’s work.

Full of new insights and captivating juxtapositions—including comparisons of each of the artist’s depictions of the Agony in the Garden and the Presentation to the Temple—this study reveals that neither Mantegna’s nor Bellini’s achievements can be fully understood in isolation and that their continuous creative exchanges shaped the work of both.