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| Andrea Mantegna |
A great focus of many artists during the Renaissance, Mantegna contributed to the development of perspective through his manipulation of the horizon line to give his work monumentality, a sense of optical illusion, and an impressive dramatic quality.
His work is also notable for its sculptural quality; the balance of colors, neutrals, and the exquisite detail of the human figure.
Mantegna, the son of the carpenter Biagio, was born at Isola di Carturo about halfway between Padua and Vicenza. The inscription on a lost altarpiece he executed in 1447 states that the artist was 17.
His name appeared on the painters' roll for Padua between 1441 and 1445 as an apprentice and adopted son of Francesco Squarcione. It was not unusual for childless masters to adopt promising apprentices. In 1448 Mantegna left Squarcione's household and established himself as an independent artist.