Andrea Mantegna

Andrea Mantegna was born around 1431 in Italy and became a student of Roman archaeology as much as a painter, letting ancient sculpture shape his eye. He married into the Bellini family, linking himself to one of Venice's great artistic dynasties. His work pushed perspective experiments of the era, dropping horizons to turn subjects monumental, and his approach stayed sculptural: flinty terrain, stony figures, a surface that felt carved. Before 1500 his workshop led Venice in printmaking, spreading that hard-edged vision beyond the walls where his frescoes and panels hung. He died in September…