- Death of the Virgin (Mantegna)
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Death of the Virgin Artist Andrea Mantegna Year 1462-1464 Type Tempera and gold on panel Dimensions 54 cm × 42 cm (21 in × 17 in) Location Museo del Prado, Madrid The Death of the Virgin is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna, from c. 1462-1464.
In this picture Mantegna depicts the last moment of Mary's life within a space defined by classical architectures, with a squared pavement which leads the observer's eyes towards the bed on which the Virgin lies. In the background is a lake scene which is a detailed reproduction of the bridge and the burgh of the Castle of St. George in Mantua. The work was in fact originally part of the decoration of the Castle chapel, together with three panels now in the Uffizi of Florence: the Adoration of the Magi, The Ascension and The Circumcision.
The unfinished appearance of the pilasters in the upper part of the picture suggests that it was once larger than it appears today. The fragment of Christ with the Virgin's Soul, now in Ferrara, was in fact most likely part of the original composition.
References
Works by Andrea Mantegna Ovetari Chapel (1448–1457) · The Adoration of the Shepherds (c. 1450–1451) · St. Jerome in the Wilderness (c. 1451) · San Luca Altarpiece (1453) · St. James Led to His Execution (c. 1455) · Presentation at the Temple (c. 1455) · Crucifixion (1459) · Agony in the Garden (c. 1459) · Portrait of Cardinal Ludovico Trevisan (c. 1459-1460) · St. Bernardino of Siena between Two Angels (1460) · Death of the Virgin (c. 1461) · Portrait of a Man (c. 1460) · Portrait of Francesco Gonzaga (c. 1461) · Madonna with Sleeping Child (c. 1470) · St. George (c. 1460) · San Zeno Altarpiece (1460) · St. Sebastian (of Vienna) (c. 1459) · Adoration of the Magi (1462) · The Ascension (1462) · The Circumcision (1464) · Portrait of Carlo de' Medici (c. 1459-1466) · St. Sebastian (of the Louvre) (c. 1480 · The Madonna of the Cherubim (c. 1485) · Triumphs of Caesar (c. 1486) · Christ as the Suffering Redeemer (c. 1488-1500) · Lamentation over the Dead Christ (c. 1490) · Madonna of the Quarry (1490) · St. Sebastian (of Venice) (1490) · Madonna della Vittoria (1496) · Judith and Holofernes (1495) · Trivulzio Madonna (1497) · Parnassus (Mars and Venus) (1497) · Holy Family (c. 1500) · Triumph of the Virtues (c. 1502)Categories:- Mantegna paintings
- 1460s paintings
- Collections of the Museo del Prado
- Paintings of the Virgin Mary
- Paintings depicting death
- Christian death-related art
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