Andrea Mantegna (Isola di Carturo, 1431 - Mantua, 1506) was one of the greatest Renaissance artists of northern Italy. The painter worked extensively between Mantua, Padua and Ferrara and thanks to his originality and passion for classical art he managed to have the title of knight. The artistic training he received at Squarcione's workshop allowed him to acquire an important antiquarian culture which was the basis of many of his masterpieces.
In Padua, in the Scrovegni Chapel, he was able to see Giotto's frescoes, but Paolo Uccello and Filippo Lippi had also worked in the city: ultimately, the Paduan humanistic environment was very stimulating for Mantegna. The painter's works are known for his experiments on perspective and spatial illusionism. Andrea Mantegna influenced the great painters of the time such as Albrecht Durer, Giovanni Bellini and Leonardo da Vinci. Artist free to express his art at the Gonzaga court, when he arrived in the Vatican, far from his homeland, he remained only two years in Rome and then returned to his beloved Mantua.
