Publication „Zu Mantegna und Bellini – Provenienz, Kunsttechnologie und Restaurierung von Werken der Berliner Gemäldegalerie“

22.02.2022
Gemäldegalerie

For the exhibition „Mantegna and Bellini. Masters of the Renaissance“ – which took place in London from October 2018 to February 2019 and at the Gemäldegalerie from March 2019 to July 2019 – the Gemäldegalerie’s restoration department examined and restored many of the collection’s paintings from Padua and Venice dating from the 15th to the beginning of the 16th century, comprising around 30 works. The Gemäldegalerie also hosted a small studio exhibition running concurrently, called „Bellini plus“. The exhibition took selected examples from the restoration work and provided an insight into the difficulties and outcomes.

Important Findings and Re-Evaluation by Art Historians

Due to huge public interest in this presentation and the extensive findings yielded by the restoration work and provenance research carried out on these items, the Gemäldegalerie is publishing additional information on 10 of these works in a volume titled „Zu Mantegna und Bellini – Provenienz, Kunsttechnologie und Restaurierung von Werken der Berliner Gemäldegalerie“(On Mantegna and Bellini – Provenance, Art Technology and the Restoration of Works at the Berlin Gemäldegalerie, only in german), set to be released this year. The volume deals with paintings by Andrea Mantegna (ca. 1431–1506) and his teacher Francesco Squarcione (1397–1468?), as well as his successor Bernardino Parentino (ca. 1450–1496), Jacopo Bellini (ca. 1400–ca. 1470), his son Giovanni Bellini (ca. 1435–1516) and pupil Francesco Bissolo (ca. 1470/75–1554). 

The technological analyses carried out in this context have contributed important insights into how the works came into being and about their original condition. In some cases, they have even lead to the re-evaluation of works by art historians. This publication presents the outcomes of the research on the use of technology in art restoration and on the restoration history of these works, and provides insight into the approaches used in the most recent restoration work. Readers can also learn fascinating details about the provenance and the circumstances behind the acquisition of these objects. 

Publication

Zu Mantegna und Bellini – Provenienz, Kunsttechnologie und Restaurierung von Werken der Berliner Gemäldegalerie

Edited by Babette Hartwieg and Neville Rowley for the Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Authors: Babette Hartwieg, Felicitas Klein, Nicola Müller, Maria Reimelt, Neville Rowley, Hanna Strzoda, Maria Zielke, Michela Zurla
Berlin/Petersberg 2022, 144 pages, 131 colour and 20 b/w illustrations, 29.95 Euro