| Madonna della Vittoria | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Andrea Mantegna |
| Year | 1496 |
| Medium | Tempera on canvas |
| Dimensions | 280 cm× 166 cm(110 in× 65 in) |
| Location | Louvre Museum, Paris |
The Madonna della Vittoria is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna; the painting was executed in 1496.
On 6 July 1495 the French army of Charles VIII of France, retreating from Italy after the French Invasion of 1494-1498, fought the Italic League at the Battle of Fornovo. The League, commanded by Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua, was made up of numerous nation-states determined to prevent French dominance in Italy, and included the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Venice, Milan, and the Papal States controlled by Pope Alexander VI. Despite the League failing in its goal to destroy the French army, taking more casualties at Fornovo, and allowing Charles VIII to retreat back to France with his army intact, [1] Francesco claimed victory. [lower-alpha 1] [2] As a sign of his self-proclaimed victory at Fornovo, he commissioned Mantegna to paint the Madonna della Vittoria. [3]
During Francesco's absence from Mantua, Daniele da Norsa, a Jewish banker, had purchased a house in the city's San Simone quarter and replaced the image of the Virgin Mary which decorated its façade with his own coat of arms. The regent, Sigismondo Gonzaga, ordered him to restore the depiction. Although Daniele agreed to do so, the populace, inflamed by anti-semitic feeling, destroyed his house.[ citation needed ]
When Francesco returned, he forced Daniele to fund a chapel and a devotional painting. The painting was to be executed by the Mantuan court painter, Mantegna, and was inaugurated in 1496 on the anniversary of the duke's victory at Fornovo. The work was placed in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, which had been constructed over the ruins of Daniele da Norsa's house.[ citation needed ]
The painting was one of the artworks looted by the French during the Napoleonic invasion of Italy, and by 1798 was being exhibited in the Louvre. The painting was never returned; the given excuse was that its large size made the transport difficult. The presence of a sulphur-crested cockatoo in the painting is considered as evidence of Arab trade in the Australasian region which dates all the way to when one such bird was gifted from Sultan al-Kamil to Frederick II in the 1240s. [4]
 | This section needs additional citations for verification .(June 2017) |
The altarpiece shows Francesco Gonzaga paying homage to Mary, who sits on a high throne decorated with marbles intarsias and bas-reliefs. The base of the throne, with lion paws, has, within a medallion, the inscription "REGINA/CELI LET./ALLELVIA" (Queen of Heaven, rejoice, Alleluia); it lies on a circular basement with a bas-relief of the "Original Sin" and other stories from the Book of Genesis which are partly obscured by the praying figures. The throne's back has a large solar disc, decorated with weavings and vitreous pearls.
The child Jesus, who holds two red flowers (symbols of the Passion) and Mary look at Francesco Gonzaga, who is kneeling and has a grateful and smiling expression while receiving their blessing. The protection given to Gonzaga during the battle is also symbolized by Mary's mantle, which partially covers his head. Opposite to the donor are St. John the Baptist with a cross featuring the usual cartouche saying "ECCE/AGNVS/DEI ECCE/Q[VI] TOLL/IT P[ECCATA] M[VNDI]" (Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sins of the world), and his mother, St. Elizabeth, protector of Isabella d'Este, wife of Francesco Gonzaga. The choice of St. Elizabeth in the place of a patron may have been chosen as a message of judgement to the Norsa who were made to pay for the work as a penalty for removing an image of the Madonna from their home. Unlike the Norsa, St. Elizabeth who is represented as a Jewess in a yellow turban, was said to be the first to recognize the sanctity of Mary. [5]
At the sides are two couples of standing saints: in the foreground are two military saints, the archangel St. Michael with a sword and St. Longinus with a broken spear, donning richly decorated armors; behind them are St. Andrew, patron saint of Mantua, with a long stick with the cross and St. George, another military saint, with a helmet and a long red lance.
The scene is set in an apse formed by a pergola of leaves, flowers and fruits, with several birds; the pergola's frame has at the top a shell (an attribute of the Virgin as new Venus), from which hang threads of coral pearls and rock crystal, as well as a large piece of red coral, another hint to the Passion of Jesus. The parrot is a comment on the birth of Jesus. [6]
Isabella d'Este was the Marchioness of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure.
Mantua is a comune (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the province of the same name.
Antonio Allegri da Correggio, usually known as just Correggio was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sensuous works of the sixteenth century. In his use of dynamic composition, illusionistic perspective and dramatic foreshortening, Correggio prefigured the Baroque art of the seventeenth century and the Rococo art of the eighteenth century. He is considered a master of chiaroscuro.
Andrea Mantegna was an Italian painter, a student of Roman archeology, and son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini.
Francesco II Gonzaga was the ruler of the Italian city of Mantua from 1484 until his death.
The Battle of Fornovo took place 30 km southwest of the city of Parma on 6 July 1495. It was fought as King Charles VIII of France left Naples upon hearing the news of the grand coalition assembled against him. Despite the numerical advantage of their opponents, the French won the engagement and Charles was able to march his army out of Italy. It was nonetheless devoid of any strategic result as all of their conquests in the Italian Peninsula were abandoned. Fornovo was the first major pitched battle of the Italian Wars.
The First Italian War, or Charles VIII's Italian War, was the opening phase of the Italian Wars. The war pitted Charles VIII of France, who had initial Milanese aid, against the Holy Roman Empire, Spain and an alliance of Italian powers led by Pope Alexander VI, known as the League of Venice.
Giovanni Santi was an Italian painter and decorator, father of Raphael. He was born in 1435 at Colbordolo in the Duchy of Urbino. He studied under Piero della Francesca and was influenced by Fiorenzo di Lorenzo. He was court painter to the Duke of Urbino and painted several altarpieces. He died in Urbino.
Mantua Cathedral in Mantua, Lombardy, northern Italy, is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to Saint Peter. It is the seat of the Bishop of Mantua.
Lorenzo Leonbruno, also known as Lorenzo de Leombeni, was an Italian painter during the early Renaissance period. He was born in Mantua (Mantova), an Italian commune in Lombardy, Italy. Leonbruno is most well known for being commissioned by the court of Francesco Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, and his wife Isabella d'Este. The patronage continued with their eldest son Federico II Gonzaga, who was the fifth Marquis of Mantua. Leonbruno was the court painter for the Gonzaga family from 1506–24.
The decade of the 1460s in art involved some significant events.
This article about the development of themes in Italian Renaissance painting is an extension to the article Italian Renaissance painting, for which it provides additional pictures with commentary. The works encompassed are from Giotto in the early 14th century to Michelangelo's Last Judgement of the 1530s.
The San Zeno Altarpiece is a polyptych altarpiece by the Italian Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna created around 1456–1459. It remains in situ in the Basilica di San Zeno, the main church of the Northern Italian city of Verona. Mantegna's style mixes Greco-Roman classical themes along with Christian subjects in this altarpiece. The central panel, along with the three paintings that comprise the predella, were taken in 1797 by the French. 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. The paintings are made with tempera on panel; not oil as mistakenly identified in one source.
Francesco Bonsignori, also known as Francesco Monsignori, was an Italian painter and draughtsman, characterized by his excellence in religious subjects, portraits, architectural perspective and animals. He was born in Verona and died in Caldiero, a city near Verona. Bonsignori's style in early period was under the influence of his teacher Liberale da Verona. After becoming the portraitist and court artist to the Gonzaga family of Mantua in 1487, his style was influenced by Andrea Mantegna, who also worked for Francesco Gonzaga from the 1480s. They collaborated to execute several religious paintings, mainly with the theme of Madonna and Child. The attribution of theportrait of a Venetian Senator was debatable until the last century because of the similarity in techniques used by Bonsignori and his teacher Mantegna. During the phase of his career in Mantua, there is an undocumented period between 1495 and July 1506 with no official record regarding his activities by the court of Mantua. Bonsignori's late style was decisively influenced by Lorenzo Costa in terms of form and color. He produced his last monumental altarpiece the Adoration of the Blessed Osanna Andreasi in 1519 shortly before his death.
St. Bernardino of Siena between Two Angels is a painting attributed to the Italian Renaissance artist Andrea Mantegna and his assistants, dated to 1460 and housed in the Pinacoteca di Brera of Milan.
Portrait of Francesco Gonzaga is a painting by Italian Renaissance artist Andrea Mantegna. It is now at the National Museum of Capodimonte, Naples, Italy.
Francesco Gonzaga was an Italian bishop and a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church during the reigns of Popes Pius II, Paul II and Sixtus IV.
Santa Maria della Vittoria was a medieval chapel or small church in Mantua located on Piazzetta di San Simone.
The Palazzo San Sebastiano is a 16th-century palace in Mantua. Built by the Gonzaga family, since 19 March 2005 it has housed Mantua's city museum.
Media related to Madonna della Vittoria at Wikimedia Commons