Andrea Mantegna 1431 – 1506

San Zeno Altarpiece

oil on panel (480 × 450 cm) — 1456-1460 Museum San Zeno, Verona

Andrea Mantegna biography

Please scroll down to read more information about this work.

Rate this work of art:

  [32 votes]

The three upper panels together form one space. The fruit chains seem real, but are in fact painted - a technique known as trompe-l'oeil. They emphasize the perspective.

In the middle, we see Mary with child seated on a throne, surrounded by angels making music. To the extreme left Peter, Paul, John the Evangelist and St Zeno. Extreme right: John the Baptist and three saints.

The paintings in the predella are all copies of the original, now on display in the Louvre and in Tours. Left to right: The prayer at the Mount of Olives, The Crucifixion, and The Resurrection.

Photo: José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Show page metadata