After a trip to The National Gallery to see an exhibition on Renaissance artists, here’s what two of our students had to say.
'The exhibition ‘Andre Mantegna and Giovanni Bellini’ combined paintings and drawings of the two artists including Jacopo Bellini's Book of Drawings. I found it useful because seeing the works first hand made me interact much more with the subject and I could see the work better in person compared to pictures online or in text books. It was also very useful when Veronique would stand next to a painting and break it down for us visually. In addition the video room where we watched a short contextual documentary was also good because not only did we learn about the individual works but also about the background and influences of the artists. These video rooms at The National Gallery are always useful. '
'The Exhibition on ‘Bellini and Mantegna’ at The National Gallery was useful in supporting my learning as I learnt about the tale of two artists and brothers in law which tells a story about art, family, rivalry and personality. Mantegna’s compositional innovation and Giovanni Bellini’s atmospheric natural landscapes were amazing as no one had seen anything like it before. Following their careers in Padua and Venice and Mantegna’s fame as a court painter to the powerful Gonzaga family in nearby Mantua, ‘Mantegna and Bellini’ Is the first ever exhibition to explore the creative links between the artists, not saying that one artist is better than the other, but how they complement each other’s work. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see in London rare paintings and drawings from around the world by two of the most influential artists of the Renaissance.'