Mantegna and Bellini at the National Gallery in London, an unprecedented and probably unrepeatable exhibition

Two Renaissance geniuses compared: it promises to be one of the most important exhibitions in the world that the National Gallery in London is dedicating to Andrea Mantegna (Isola di Carturo, 1431 - Mantua, 1506) and his brother-in-law Giovanni Bellini (Venice, c. 1433 - 1516). Mantegna and Bellini, from October 1, 2018 to January 27, 2019, tells “a story of art, of family, of rivalry, of personalities,” as the presentation of the exhibition states. They were two revolutionary artists: Mantegna for his compositional inventions and his relationship with the ancient, Bellini for his landscapes and atmospheric renderings.

The exhibition follows the careers of the two artists, starting in Padua and Venice, then focusing on the long period Mantegna spent at the Gonzaga court in Mantua and on Bellini’s masterpieces. This is the first exhibition ever to delve into the relationship between the two great artists: important paintings from all over the world are arriving in London, first among them the two Presentations at the Temple, the one by Giovanni Bellini conserved at the Querini Stampalia in Venice and the one by Mantegna at the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, already the subject of a Venetian exhibition held this year, which was a great success having shown the two works side by side for the first time in history.

But that’s not all: in fact, the exhibition will offer the public a roundup of masterpieces, from Mantegna’sOration in the Garden to Mantegna’s Crucifixion and Pietà, from the Madonna and Child with Saints (Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice) to Bellini’s Continenza di Scipione, and three of Mantegna’s Triumphs of Caesar will not be missing either.

“Mantegna’s passion for antiquity and Bellini’s love of nature are fundamental elements of the Italian Renaissance,” said Gabriele Finaldi, director of the National Gallery. “This exhibition, which displays their work together, is unprecedented and probably unrepeatable.”

The exhibition, curated by Caroline Campbell, is organized by the National Gallery in London and the Staatliche Museen in Berlin in collaboration with the British Museum. Hours: daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Fridays until 9 p.m.), ticket office closes one hour earlier. Tickets from £14, children under 12 get in free. For more information you can visit the National Gallery website.

Image: Andrea Mantegna, Oration in the Garden (1455; tempera on panel, 63 x 80 cm; London, National Gallery)

Mantegna and Bellini at the National Gallery in London, an unprecedented and probably unrepeatable exhibition

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