The Agony In The Garden: A Painting by Andrea Mantegna
A dramatic interpretation of a familiar theme in Renaissance art
Andrea Mantegna was born in 1431 in the small village of Isola de Carturo in northern Italy. His father, Biagio, was a carpenter.
The young boy was raised in nearby Padua — a university city, some 10 miles from Venice, which had acquired an international reputation for humanism and learning.
At about the age of 10, Andreas was adopted by the artist Francesco Squarcione and registered in the Guild of Painters in Padua. While in Padua, he took part in a group dedicated to the study and reconstruction of Classical culture and civilization.
In 1456 he was invited by Lodovico Gonzaga to go to Mantua. Delayed by his work in Padua, Mantegna finally took up his appointment in 1460. The Gonzagas owned a large library and gradually established Mantua as a centre of learning, particularly well equipped for the study of Classical art and philosophy.
In his paintings, Mantegna combined an imaginative use of antique forms with a technical virtuosity which made him extremely sought-after.
Mantegna was no mere dilettante however — he had a sound archaeological knowledge and a special interest in classical inscriptions, an interest…
