MANTEGNA, Andrea
(b. 1431, Isola di Carturo, d. 1506, Mantova)

Virgin and Child

1490-91
Engraving, 217 x 189 mm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

Although in his biography of Mantegna, Giorgio Vasari states that the artist was the first in Italy to master the technique of copper engraving, scholars differ on whether Mantegna did the engravings himself or supplied drawings to professional printmakers. A Mantegna painting with a similar composition, in Padua's Eremitani Museum, may have served as the basis for this print.




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