St Bernardino of Siena with Angels

Andrea Mantegna

Download hi-res image TITLE St Bernardino of Siena with Angels
AUTHOR Andrea Mantegna
DATE 1469
OBJECT TYPE AND MATERIAL Mixed media on canvas
DIMENSIONS cm 385 x 220
INVENTORY 188
ROOM VIII
Work on display

This is Mantegna ‘s first single-space altarpiece and may have been commissioned by Ludovico Gonzaga shortly after the canonisation of the saint (in 1459) to whom the iscription on the architrave – HUIUS LINGUA SALUS HOMINUM (his tongue is the salvation of men) – celebrating his truly effective preaching alludes. Mantegna painted the picture with the help of an assistant but the design of the architecture, which probably matched the altarpiece’s original frame, is by the master’s own hand.