Arts Culture > Monkeybrains
Mantegna's Altarpiece Allows For Lenten Reflection
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| Renaissance artist Andrea Mantegna’s San Zeno Altarpiece is among the most instructive and involved images related to the Lenten season. |
Smart About Art
By Cheryl VanBuskirk, For The Bulletin
The season of Lent is the 40-day period of fasting and prayer before Easter that is observed in some Western Christian religions. Forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the desert where he was tempted by Satan, according to the Bible. In Western Christianity, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which was Feb. 25 this year, the seventh Wednesday before Easter. In many countries, the last day before Lent, called Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday or Carnival, is a last chance to celebrate before the prayer and fasting of Lent. Carnival is the Latin word for “farewell to meat.”
The purpose of Lent is to prepare the believer through prayer, penitence, alms giving and self-denial for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Lent is a time for soul-searching, reflection, repenting and taking stock. Today, some people give up a particular personal vice, such as eating sweets, smoking or gambling, to hopefully bring them closer to God. The time or money usually spent on that personal activity is often donated to a charitable purpose.
During the Middle Ages in Europe, the Catholic Church determined the daily menu for all people. Fasting during Lent was stricter than today, although there was great variation. In some areas of the continent, all animal products, including butter, milk and eggs, were strictly forbidden. Certain regions permitted fish and fowl at the same time that others prohibited fruit and eggs. The generally accepted practice was to abstain from eating until the evening meal, when a modest meal without meat or alcohol was consumed.
In the early Middle Ages, Thomas Aquinas argued that meat, eggs and dairy products gave people greater pleasure as food than fish. Dispensations for dairy products could be given for a donation to your church. Several structures are popularly believed to have been financed through these dispensations, including the “Butter Tower” of the Rouen Cathedral in Paris, France. Historically, supplies of food ran low in February and March, the end of winter. Any fruits and vegetables left were old, wrinkled and moldy. Although Lent is a liturgical season, there are obvious practical and political reasons for its enforcement. The people had to be regulated in order to preserve the limited food supply until better weather.
In current Western societies, fasting is more relaxed. The Roman Catholic Church traditionally requires abstaining from meat every Friday, although dairy products are permitted, for those 18 and older. Episcopalians over the age of 14 are expected to have one full meal, without meat or poultry, or two small meals as an alternate plan to keep up one’s strength. Protestants may consider the observation of Lent a personal choice, rather than an obligation to the church. They may elect to give up a favorite food, drink or leisure activity or take on a devotion such as volunteer work.
Many, many images related to the season of Lent exist throughout the world. Among the most instructive and involved may be the San Zeno Altarpiece created in 1455-1459 by Andrea Mantegna for the Benedictine Monastery of San Zeno, Italy. This grand and extravagant structure, about 22 feet tall and 14 feet wide, was constructed of wood and tempera paint near Verona, Italy. The main center section of the altarpiece features a Madonna and angels with saints on either side. The scene titled “The Agony in the Garden” was painted in the lower right panel of the predella, which is the lower left panel as we view the image, and measures around 2 feet tall by 3 feet wide. Over the years, Mantegna revised and altered the various scenes and much of his early work is now lost.
Mantegna was a Renaissance artist from Venice. He was a student of ancient Roman archaeology and the son-in-law of the noted painter Jacopo Bellini. He experimented with the artistic developments of the time and his print workshop was the leading producer of engravings in Venice before 1500. Mantegna was apprenticed at age 11 to Francesco Squarcione, who legally adopted him. Squarcione was a local tailor, actor and travelling art collector. Mantegna worked along with hundreds of other young aspiring artists in the famous Squarcine School. He learned the language of Latin and studied the classical elements of ancient Roman sculpture as well as techniques of creating various perspectives, including the worms-eye view and the lowered view perspective. Mantegna became independent from the school around the age of 17 and joined a group of fellow students creating frescoes in churches around Padua, which had become a city of artists, writers and patrons. This series of frescoes was almost entirely lost in the 1944 Allied bombings of Italy.
In “The Agony in the Garden,” Mantegna’s mastery of the various perspectives is apparent. We first see three haloed sleeping figures stretched across the foreground. They are dressed in tightly draped and folded robes that cling to their slim yet muscular figures. Mantegna’s study of the classical Roman forms is evident here. The figure with his feet angled toward the viewer is shown in a very difficult position to draw, which requires the mastery of worms-eye view perspective. Mantegna’s use of diminishing size perspective, as well as light versus dark, pulls our eyes from these large reclining figures along the curving road and river into the middle ground. To our right, we see a group of people, shown much smaller in size, walking and talking as they make their way down from a fortress built high above. Silhouetted against the intricate white fortress is the figure of Jesus Christ kneeling in prayer on the rock above the three sleeping figures. Jesus is praying to a group of winged Cupid-type babies holding a cross who are hovering on a cloud. They are, of course, symbolic and a good example of the combination of images from mythology, religion and the everyday real world in early Northern Renaissance art. The composition is a very standard arrangement of three parts: the foreground, the middle ground and the background with aerial perspective used to soften the distant hills as they blend with the sky. The angled shapes help create the illusion of depth as shown in the varied and complementary angles of the sleeping figures, winding road, rock formations, fortress and hills in the background. Even the cloud supporting the muscular babies is placed at an angle to draw our attention back and deeper into the space.
Mantegna’s interest in classical architecture and linear perspective is shown in his exacting attention to the detailed fortress. The various types of trees, flowers, birds and wildlife scattered throughout the painting show an interest recreating the world as he experienced it. A subdued color scheme of tan, brown, gold and green was the favored palette of the Northern European artists. The red, blue and gold touches in the clothing embellish the otherwise quiet scheme. The Southern Renaissance in Italy embraced a bolder, more vibrant color plan with full seasonal variations.
Mantegna’s San Zeno Altarpiece was a powerful influence on painting throughout Northern Italy. It may have been the first altarpiece done in a truly Renaissance style with the typical compositional plan and the exacting depiction of architecture. The effective use of light and backlighting, seen here for the first time in Mantegna’s work, gives an elegance and restrained quality to the figures despite the intense emotion involved. His mastery of spatial illusionism was inspirational at the time. Mantegna’s work influenced many artists including Giovanni Bellini, Albrecht Durer and Leonardo daVinci.
Cheryl VanBuskirk has been teaching art and art history on the Main Line for more than 30 years.
The purpose of Lent is to prepare the believer through prayer, penitence, alms giving and self-denial for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Lent is a time for soul-searching, reflection, repenting and taking stock. Today, some people give up a particular personal vice, such as eating sweets, smoking or gambling, to hopefully bring them closer to God. The time or money usually spent on that personal activity is often donated to a charitable purpose.
During the Middle Ages in Europe, the Catholic Church determined the daily menu for all people. Fasting during Lent was stricter than today, although there was great variation. In some areas of the continent, all animal products, including butter, milk and eggs, were strictly forbidden. Certain regions permitted fish and fowl at the same time that others prohibited fruit and eggs. The generally accepted practice was to abstain from eating until the evening meal, when a modest meal without meat or alcohol was consumed.
In the early Middle Ages, Thomas Aquinas argued that meat, eggs and dairy products gave people greater pleasure as food than fish. Dispensations for dairy products could be given for a donation to your church. Several structures are popularly believed to have been financed through these dispensations, including the “Butter Tower” of the Rouen Cathedral in Paris, France. Historically, supplies of food ran low in February and March, the end of winter. Any fruits and vegetables left were old, wrinkled and moldy. Although Lent is a liturgical season, there are obvious practical and political reasons for its enforcement. The people had to be regulated in order to preserve the limited food supply until better weather.
In current Western societies, fasting is more relaxed. The Roman Catholic Church traditionally requires abstaining from meat every Friday, although dairy products are permitted, for those 18 and older. Episcopalians over the age of 14 are expected to have one full meal, without meat or poultry, or two small meals as an alternate plan to keep up one’s strength. Protestants may consider the observation of Lent a personal choice, rather than an obligation to the church. They may elect to give up a favorite food, drink or leisure activity or take on a devotion such as volunteer work.
Many, many images related to the season of Lent exist throughout the world. Among the most instructive and involved may be the San Zeno Altarpiece created in 1455-1459 by Andrea Mantegna for the Benedictine Monastery of San Zeno, Italy. This grand and extravagant structure, about 22 feet tall and 14 feet wide, was constructed of wood and tempera paint near Verona, Italy. The main center section of the altarpiece features a Madonna and angels with saints on either side. The scene titled “The Agony in the Garden” was painted in the lower right panel of the predella, which is the lower left panel as we view the image, and measures around 2 feet tall by 3 feet wide. Over the years, Mantegna revised and altered the various scenes and much of his early work is now lost.
Mantegna was a Renaissance artist from Venice. He was a student of ancient Roman archaeology and the son-in-law of the noted painter Jacopo Bellini. He experimented with the artistic developments of the time and his print workshop was the leading producer of engravings in Venice before 1500. Mantegna was apprenticed at age 11 to Francesco Squarcione, who legally adopted him. Squarcione was a local tailor, actor and travelling art collector. Mantegna worked along with hundreds of other young aspiring artists in the famous Squarcine School. He learned the language of Latin and studied the classical elements of ancient Roman sculpture as well as techniques of creating various perspectives, including the worms-eye view and the lowered view perspective. Mantegna became independent from the school around the age of 17 and joined a group of fellow students creating frescoes in churches around Padua, which had become a city of artists, writers and patrons. This series of frescoes was almost entirely lost in the 1944 Allied bombings of Italy.
In “The Agony in the Garden,” Mantegna’s mastery of the various perspectives is apparent. We first see three haloed sleeping figures stretched across the foreground. They are dressed in tightly draped and folded robes that cling to their slim yet muscular figures. Mantegna’s study of the classical Roman forms is evident here. The figure with his feet angled toward the viewer is shown in a very difficult position to draw, which requires the mastery of worms-eye view perspective. Mantegna’s use of diminishing size perspective, as well as light versus dark, pulls our eyes from these large reclining figures along the curving road and river into the middle ground. To our right, we see a group of people, shown much smaller in size, walking and talking as they make their way down from a fortress built high above. Silhouetted against the intricate white fortress is the figure of Jesus Christ kneeling in prayer on the rock above the three sleeping figures. Jesus is praying to a group of winged Cupid-type babies holding a cross who are hovering on a cloud. They are, of course, symbolic and a good example of the combination of images from mythology, religion and the everyday real world in early Northern Renaissance art. The composition is a very standard arrangement of three parts: the foreground, the middle ground and the background with aerial perspective used to soften the distant hills as they blend with the sky. The angled shapes help create the illusion of depth as shown in the varied and complementary angles of the sleeping figures, winding road, rock formations, fortress and hills in the background. Even the cloud supporting the muscular babies is placed at an angle to draw our attention back and deeper into the space.
Mantegna’s interest in classical architecture and linear perspective is shown in his exacting attention to the detailed fortress. The various types of trees, flowers, birds and wildlife scattered throughout the painting show an interest recreating the world as he experienced it. A subdued color scheme of tan, brown, gold and green was the favored palette of the Northern European artists. The red, blue and gold touches in the clothing embellish the otherwise quiet scheme. The Southern Renaissance in Italy embraced a bolder, more vibrant color plan with full seasonal variations.
Mantegna’s San Zeno Altarpiece was a powerful influence on painting throughout Northern Italy. It may have been the first altarpiece done in a truly Renaissance style with the typical compositional plan and the exacting depiction of architecture. The effective use of light and backlighting, seen here for the first time in Mantegna’s work, gives an elegance and restrained quality to the figures despite the intense emotion involved. His mastery of spatial illusionism was inspirational at the time. Mantegna’s work influenced many artists including Giovanni Bellini, Albrecht Durer and Leonardo daVinci.
Cheryl VanBuskirk has been teaching art and art history on the Main Line for more than 30 years.
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