A precious drawing by Mantegna exceptionally exhibited in Brescia

Andrea Mantegna’s work is undoubtedly one of the main artistic reference points of the Renaissance: with his immediately recognizable style and his ability to arrange the depicted elements in space, the Venetian painter and engraver contributed to defining a new artistic language . One of his most famous drawings, the Deposition of Christ in the Tomb, is now the subject of an extraordinary temporary exhibition at the Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo in Brescia. Dated around 1460-1465, this pen and brown ink drawing is considered the most precious work of art among those in the collection of drawings of the Lombard city, and documents with great force the stylistic and conceptual revolution of Renaissance perspective, of which Mantegna was one of the greatest promoters.THE PERSPECTIVE IN ANDREA MANTEGNA’S DRAWINGUsually kept in the drawers of the Cabinet of Drawings and Prints for conservation reasons, the drawing of the Deposition is exhibited for the first time in the city of Brescia, where it will be visible to the public until next November 3rd. To represent in this work the scene in which the body of Jesus is delicately lowered into the tomb, surrounded by figures of praying saints, Andrea Mantegna opted for a particular perspective approach, placing the observer’s point of view diagonally with respect to the events . The Renaissance genius thus departs from the traditional lateral perspective, as evidenced by the numerous and clearly visible variations made during the work, and applies an ideal rotation that prefigures the revolutionary view adopted for his masterpiece, that dead Christ which he will only complete ten years later. MANTEGNA’S “DEPOSITION” ON EXHIBITION FOR THE FIRST TIME IN BRESCIA Before being exhibited in Brescia, the drawing of the Deposition of Christ in the tomb was the prized piece of important exhibitions dedicated to the great Renaissance painter in many cities of the world. The first public exhibition in the city where it is usually kept is a cultural event of great importance, which will allow you to admire a work that had a central role in the diffusion of Andrea Mantegna’s art, and which marked the history of Italian and international art.[Immagine in apertura: installation view. Credits Fondazione Brescia Musei]