Mantegna and Bellini is the first ever exhibition devoted to the relationship between two of the greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance: Giovanni Bellini (active about 1459-1516) and Andrea Mantegna (1430/1-1506). The work has now been returned to Andrea Mantegna, and the decision to lend it to the National Gallery in London, upon completion of the restoration, is the worthy culmination of an inspired journey of research." The generous participation of so many people and the great interest of the public, who were able to follow the work every step of the way in one of the museum galleries, make this an exemplary project. Cristina Rodeschini, Director of Accademia Carrara of Bergamo said: "The end of a restoration project is always a moment of satisfaction, and this is true to an even greater degree following the extremely delicate work on Andrea Mantegna's 'The Resurrection of Christ'. We are incredibly grateful to our colleagues at the Accademia Carrara for making this possible." These are important works from Mantegna's later career - from the period he was working in Mantua and produced incredibly refined works for the court of the Gonzaga family, so we are thrilled to be able to give visitors to the exhibition a first chance to see the works reunited. It is now displayed as it was conceived, above 'The Descent of Christ into Limbo' which is on loan to the exhibition from a private collection. Since the Mantegna attribution (May 2018), The Resurrection of Christ has undergone restoration to remove 19th-century varnish and repaint, before travelling to London to be hung above The Descent of Christ into Limbo, which was already in Room 2 of the exhibition.Ĭaroline Campbell, National Gallery Director of Collections and Research says "We are absolutely delighted that 'The Resurrection of Christ' from the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo has travelled to London to join our 'Mantegna and Bellini' exhibition. It is not known exactly when the pictures were separated, however it was very common for Italian paintings of this date to be divided when their function changed, particularly if they were made for a religious context. It is believed the panels were painted for the chapel in the castle at Mantua, where Mantegna spent much of his life working as a court painter for the Gonzaga family. Comparisons were made with several works before the link was established with The Descent of Christ into Limbo. The re-evaluation of The Resurrection of Christ came after the discovery of a small cross beneath the stone arch, which suggested it may have been part of a bigger panel. The lower half, The Descent of Christ into Limbo (around 1492), has been loaned to the National Gallery by a private collector. The upper section, The Resurrection of Christ (around 1492) has been in the collection of the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo since the 19th century, but was only recently re-attributed to Mantegna. Visitors to the critically acclaimed Mantegna and Bellini exhibition at the National Gallery can now see two panels of a single painting by Andrea Mantegna that have just been reunited for the first time in possibly 500 years. This will lead to my final chapter in which I reach a conclusion on the attribution and dating of the Bristol painting by assessing the validity of all previous arguments for and against the attribution to Bellini, considering other possible authors of the painting and formalistic comparison of other works by Bellini.The Resurrection of Christ being installed above The Descent of Christ into Limbo in Mantegna and Bellini - The National Gallery, London © I will demonstrate that the Bristol painting has specific differences, possessing detailed symbolism, from Mantegna’s print that illustrate decisively that the painting cannot be considered a ‘copy’ and was the work of an accomplished artist. Following this I will then pay attention to the theological interpretation of the subject represented in the both the painting and print and how their meanings fundamentally differ from each other and from earlier representations of the subject both written and visual. I will focus my research firstly on the problematic accounts in previous scholarly literature on the painting and then investigate the painting’s condition, materials and execution as I believe this has been somewhat overlooked by scholars. The painting is directly related to an engraving by Andrea Mantegna (1430/1-1506) of the same title. This dissertation will focus on a painting in the Bristol City Art Gallery and Museum entitled Christ’s Descent into Limbo, attributed to Giovanni Bellini (c.1430-1516) by the museum.
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