Mantegna and Francia

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About this book

"Mantegna and Francia" by Julia Cartwright is an illustrated art-historical biography written in the late 19th century. It traces the lives, works, and influence of the Renaissance painters Andrea Mantegna and Francesco Francia, setting their art within the culture, patrons, and workshops of Northern and Central Italy. The opening of the book focuses on Mantegna: it sketches the rise of the Paduan school, his training under Squarcione, and the bold innovations of his Eremitani frescoes—sculptural forms, exacting perspective, classical detail, and close study of nature—shaped by Donatello, Paolo Uccello, and his ties to the Bellini family. It follows his move to Mantua, key commissions such as the San Zeno altarpiece, the Uffizi triptych, the celebrated St. Sebastian and Dead Christ, and the courtly portraits and illusionistic oculus of the Camera degli Sposi.