Brief Biography-Andrea Mantegna was born not far from Padua, where his parents of little means had him attending cattle in his youth. In Padua, he became an apprentice to a mediocre artist named Jacopo Squarcione, who adopted him as his son when realising Mantegna’s talents. Squarcione brought plaster casts and paintings from Tuscany and Rome for him to study. He also learned a great deal from his master’s other students. After Mantegna painted an exceptional picture for the grand altar in the Santa Sofia Church in Padua, Squarcione enlisted him and another of his pupils, Niccolò Pizzolo, to paint in the church of Sant’ Agostino in Padua. Pizzolo painted a notable panel of God the Father; however, his work abruptly ceased when he was murdered by an adversary while returning home one evening. Unfortunately, Pizzolo had more interest in arms and confrontation than in painting. Jacopo Bellini, the father of Gentile and Giovanni, a competitor of Squarcione, arranged to have Mantegna marry his daughter in Venice. Squarcione was so enraged that he became Mantegna’s bitter enemy and critic.
Mantegna strongly influenced Giovanni Bellini. It is particularly evident in his Agony in the Garden, which is similar in style to Mantegna’s painting. The Marquis, Ludovico Gonzaga, commissioned Mantegna to work in his private chapel and the Palazzo di San Sebastiano Hall in Mantua. Ludovico honoured him with a knighthood, and he became a court painter in 1460. His paintings in Mantua persuaded Pope Innocent VIII to engage him to paint the walls of the Belvedere and undertake other works in Rome. After that, he returned to Mantua, where he was to settle and receive significant commissions for the remainder of his life. He engraved many of his copper works, and his skill of foreshortening was unparalleled in his time.
Mantegna painted The Triumph of Caesar for the grandson of The Marquis, Francesco, his successor. It consisted of nine canvases Charles I purchased in 1627; they now hang in Hampton Court. Albrecht Dürer and Leonardo da Vincitook inspiration from him, as did many other great masters of the Renaissance.