BELLINI, Giovanni (b. ca. 1426, Venezia, d. 1516, Venezia) Continence of Scipio (detail) 1507-08 Oil on canvas, 74,8 x 35,6 cm (full painting) National Gallery of Art, Washington The picture shows the left part of the painting. The Continence of Scipio was the last operative meeting-point of Andrea Mantegna and Giovanni Bellini, who were by this time not only old men but exponents of entirely different figurative styles. In fact, Bellini's frieze represents the continuation of Mantegna's, who painted Scipio Receiving the Image of Cybele. The canvas by Mantegna, which is now at t
BELLINI, Giovanni (b. ca. 1426, Venezia, d. 1516, Venezia) Continence of Scipio (detail) 1507-08 Oil on canvas, 74,8 x 35,6 cm (full painting) National Gallery of Art, Washington The picture shows the left part of the painting. The Continence of Scipio was the last operative meeting-point of Andrea Mantegna and Giovanni Bellini, who were by this time not only old men but exponents of entirely different figurative styles. In fact, Bellini's frieze represents the continuation of Mantegna's, who painted Scipio Receiving the Image of Cybele. The canvas by Mantegna, which is now at the National Gallery in London, had been commissioned by the Mantuan Francesco Cornaro for the decoration of his house at San Polo in Venice. At the time of payment, however, there was some disagreement between the client and the artist, which we know about from a letter written by Bembo to Isabella Gonzaga in 1505. The monochrome painting was consequently not delivered to Cornaro, and his family received it only later. At the time of the painter's death in September 1506, the question was still a matter of controversy (to the extent that the painting was still in Mantegna's house) and the cycle thus remained completely interrupted. In his own frieze, Mantegna had painted an episode from the Second Punic War: the introduction of the cult of Cybele in Rome, an event, according to the oracle of Delos, to which the victory of Rome was subordinated; kneeling in the presence of the goddess's likeness, the matron Claudia Quinta proves her chastity. The choice of the subject was fitting, since the client's family boasted descent from the Roman family of Cornelius, to which Scipio belonged; although for that matter it was no less fitting for the artist, whose love for classical antiquity and archeological studies was very well-known. For Bellini, on the other hand, probably called to replace Mantegna after his death in 1506, both the subject and the technique (a false relief paint
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Keywords: artwork, paint, painter, painting, paintings
