Antonio Pisanello

Leonello d'Este , profile portrait, tempera on wood, Bergamo, c. 1441

Antonio Pisanello (* 1395 in Pisa , † around 1455 in Rome ), actually Antonio di Puccio Pisano and sometimes also called Vittore Pisano , was an Italian painter, draftsman and medalist . With his portrait medals, in particular, he paved the way for the Renaissance in Northern Italy.

Life

In 1425/26 Pisanello was placed in the service of the then Duke Ludovico Gonzaga at the Mantuan court. Pisano was active in rapid succession in Venice , Verona , Rome , Ferrara , Rimini , Milan , Mantua (Palazzo Ducale) and finally in Naples (1448/9). His work was also stimulated by Gentile da Fabriano , whose frescoes he worked on in Venice (Doge's Palace, Sala del Maggior Consiglio) and in Rome (St. Giovanni in Laterano, 1431–32). Also Michelino da Besozzo exercised early influence on him. His extensive medal production is due to the fact that the ruling families of the Malatesta (Rimini and Pesaro), Gonzaga (Mantua), Visconti (Milan) and the Este (Ferrara) commissioned him, as well as the humanists living at the courts have entrusted. 1439/42 stay in Mantua and Verona during the hostilities between Milan and Venice, sacked by Gonzaga's troops. By taking sides, he was arrested in Venice, but was soon released.

It is particularly noteworthy that the painter, as court painter in Mantua in 1445/47, made frescoes in the so-called 'Sala del Pisanello' with scenes of war and knight life from the Lanzelot epic. In 1449 he received the privileges of an artist at the Neapolitan court from King Alfon V of Aragon, who was a patron of the family. Pisanello dies in Rome, probably around October 31, 1455.

plant

Scene at the chapel entrance to the Pellegrini Chapel in St. Anastasia, Verona

Pisanello created numerous frescoes , all but two of which have been destroyed. The two remaining frescoes, which are part of the artist's main work, can be seen in Verona and are considered his early works. These are the Annunciation in the Church of San Fermo and the Departure of St. George about the fight with the dragon in the church of Sant'Anastasia al Palatino at the entrance to the Pellegrini chapel. Pisanello's understanding of art was that of the transition from the late Gothic with the echo of court culture to the early Renaissance .

In addition to numerous panel paintings of legends of saints, he made himself known above all for his animal paintings , which are characterized by their naturalness. But the artist became more famous because he was one of the first to model foam coins with images and cast them in metal. His works can be seen in museums in Bergamo, London, Paris and Vienna.

The Codex Vallardi in the Louvre in Paris is an anthology with drawings by Pisanello, comparable in quality to those of Leonardo da Vinci. This is where most of the drawings he has survived are, which capture reality with great precision in a sharp and varied manner. The animal and portrait representations in particular show Pisanello as a brilliant portrayal of the individual.

literature

• Giorgio Vasari: Le Vite (The life of G. da Fabriano and Pisanello and others), edited by Christina Posselt, Klaus Wagenbach Verlag, Berlin, 2011. ISBN 978-3-8031-5052-3 .
• Bernhard Degenhart, Annegrit Schmitt: Pisanello and Bono da Ferrara, Hirmer Verlag, Munich, 1995. ISBN 978-3-7774-6580-7 .

Works (selection)

• Apparition of the Virgin with Saints Anthony and George , around 1445, 47 × 29 cm, tempera on wood, London, National Gallery.
• Portrait of a girl. 1433, wood, 43 × 30 cm, Paris, Musée National du Louvre.
• Leonello d'Este , 1441, wood, 28 × 19 cm, Bergamo, Galleria dell ' Accademia Carrara .
  

  Portrait medal of Pisanello, verso Cecilia Gonzaga, 1447
• Mary appears to Saints Anthony and George , around 1441, wood, 47 × 29 cm. London, National Gallery.
• Vision of Saint Eustachius , wood, 55 × 65 cm. London, National Gallery.

Web links

Commons : Pisanello  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Works by Antonio Pisanello at Zeno.org .
• Literature by and about Antonio Pisanello in the catalog of the German National Library
• Medals from Antonio Pisanello in the interactive catalog of the Münzkabinett of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin