San Zeno Altarpiece (Mantegna)

San Zeno Altarpiece

Artist	Andrea Mantegna
Year	1457–1460
Medium	Tempera on panel
Dimensions	212 cm × 460 cm (83 in × 180 in)
Location	Basilica di San Zeno, Verona

The San Zeno Altarpiece is a triptych by the Italian Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna, from c. 1457-1460. It is located in the Basilica di San Zeno, the main church of Verona. The three predellas, stripped by the French in 1797 along with the main picture (restored to Verona in 1815), are now replaced by copies. The originals are in the Louvre (Crucifixion) and in the Museum of Tours.

The work was commissioned by the Abbot Gregorio Correr. In the centre is the Madonna enthroned with the Child, portrayed according to the Byzantine iconography of the Victorious Madonna and surrounded by chanting angels. Eight saints are placed at the sides, according to the commissioner's preferences: on the left are Peter, Paul, John the Evangelist and Zeno; on the right, Benedict, Lawrence, Gregory and John the Baptist.

The entire composition is full of detail referring to classical Antiquity: the frieze with the angels which hold two garlands or the throne, which reminds the viewer of a sarcophagus. The frame, probably designed by Mantegna himself, is the original one.

It was probably the first good example of the Renaissance art in Verona. It was a model for painters, for example Girolamo dai Libri.

Predella

The central panel (The Crucifixion)
Detail of the central panel
Detail of the central panel

References

External video
A study made for the painting, now at the Getty Museum
Andrea Mantegna, San Zeno Altarpiece, Smarthistory

Page at artonline.it

Works by Andrea Mantegna

Ovetari Chapel (1448–1457)
The Adoration of the Shepherds (c. 1450–1451)
St. Jerome in the Wilderness (c. 1451)
San Luca Altarpiece (1453)
St. James Led to His Execution (c. 1455)
Presentation at the Temple (c. 1455)
Agony in the Garden (c. 1458)
Crucifixion (1459)
Agony in the Garden (c. 1459)
Portrait of Cardinal Ludovico Trevisan (c. 1459–1460)
St. Bernardino of Siena between Two Angels (1460)
Death of the Virgin (c. 1461)
Portrait of a Man (c. 1460)
Portrait of Francesco Gonzaga (c. 1461)
Madonna with Sleeping Child (c. 1470)
St. George (c. 1460)
San Zeno Altarpiece (1460)
St. Sebastian (of Vienna) (c. 1459)
Adoration of the Magi (1462)
The Ascension (1462)
The Circumcision (1464)
Portrait of Carlo de' Medici (c. 1459–1466)
St. Sebastian (of the Louvre) (c. 1480)
The Madonna of the Cherubim (c. 1485)
Triumphs of Caesar (c. 1486)
Christ as the Suffering Redeemer (c. 1488–1500)
Lamentation over the Dead Christ (c. 1490)
Madonna of the Quarry (1490)
St. Sebastian (of Venice) (1490)
Madonna della Vittoria (1496)
Judith and Holofernes (1495)
Trivulzio Madonna (1497)
Parnassus (Mars and Venus) (1497)
Ecce homo (c. 1500)
Holy Family (c. 1500)
Triumph of the Virtues (c. 1502)

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