Meanwhile Isabella d'Este had become duchess at Mantua by her marriage with Gian Francesco Gonzaga. She enlisted Man tegna's help for the decoration of her study, a small apartment, in the arrangement of which she took a keen interest prescribing the mythological and allegorical subjects of the five panels which adorned the walls. Two of these, "the Parnassus" and the "Allegory of Virtue and Vice," were painted by Mantegna; the remaining three were done by Pietro Perugino and Lorenzo Costa. The whole set are now in the Louvre. Among Mantegna's last works was the picture which he painted in 1495 for Santa Maria della Vittoria, a church built after his design to commemorate the battle of Fornovo, which Gian Francesco Gonzaga, commander of the Italian forces, found it convenient to celebrate as his vic tory, though in fact it seems to have been a French victory. This picture is now in the Louvre. Mantegna passed the latter part of his life in poverty; he was in debt and not able to continue in the house he had built, and had to sell his beloved antique bust of Faustina. He died on Sept. 13, 1506, at Mantua, and was buried in a chapel which he had built for himself in S. Andrea, at Mantua. Over his tomb a fine bronze head by an unknown con temporary sculptor presents his strong and austere features. At the time of his death his art seemed surpassed by the rising glory of Titian, of Michelangelo and Raphael.
Besides the paintings described above the following may be mentioned : "The Agony in the Garden," in the National Gallery, London; the portrait of the Cardinal Scarampo, in the Berlin museum ; the "Death of the Virgin," in the Prado at Madrid ; the "Adoration of the Magi," in the Johnson collection, Philadelphia; the triptych in the Uffizi, Florence, representing "the the Magi," "the Circumcision," and "the Ascension," with its delicate and precise finish and its rich decorative effects, is a fine example of the master's power of concentration in works on a small scale. To the same class belong "the Madonna seated in front of a Grotto," in the Uffizi; the "St. George," in the academy at Venice ; and the "St. Sebastian," at Vienna. All these are early works. Of a later period are "The Virgin in glory with four Saints" (1497), painted for S. Maria in Organo, at Verona,
and now in the collection of Prince Trivulzio at Milan ; "the Madonna with John the Baptist and the Magdalen," in the Na tional Gallery, London; "the Triumph of Scipio" (1506) and "Samson and Delilah," in the same gallery, both executed monochrome ; the "Virgin and Child," in the Carrara collection at Bergamo; "the Virgin and Child surrounded by Cherubim," in the Brera at Milan; "Christ upheld by Angels," in the museum at Copenhagen; "The Dead Christ" (1506), at the Brera gallery, Milan, a study of a foreshortened human figure which may be regarded as his last picture.
Mantegna contributed towards the development of the art of engraving; his plates are among the first productions in that medium. By means of delicate shading lines he obtained a chiaro scuro of rich quality. The outline is clear and gemlike; the figures, rhythmically arranged, stand out within their small compass with monumental grandeur. Engraving is here no longer a convenient process for reproducing designs, but a fine art. According to Vasari, Mantegna was prompted to take up engraving during his stay in Rome, but there were artists practising engraving at Mantua as far back as 1475 and the question of the period covered by Mantegna's engravings is not yet solved. Bartsch assigned to Mantegna no fewer than 27 engravings, but present-day criticism acknowledges only seven as original. The earliest is "the Virgin and Child"; then follow "Bacchanalia with Silenus"; "Bacchanalia with a Wine Press"; "The Battle of Sea Gods," in two parts; "The Entombment"; and "the Risen Christ between St. Andrew and Longinus." See Vasari, Vite; Crowe and Cavalcaselle, History of Painting in North Italy, edit. by T. Borenius (1912) ; P. Kristeller, A. Mantegna 0900 ; C. Yriarte, Mantegna (i9oi) ; F. Knapp, A. Mantegna (Iwo), vol. xvi. of the series Klassiker der Kunst; G. Fiocco, Andrea Mantegna (Bologna, 1927). V. Lassarini and A. Moschetti, Documenti relativi alla pittura padovana del Secolo XV. (Venice, 1908) is important for documents on Mantegna's early life. See also T. Borenius, Four early Italian Engravers (1923). (I. A. R.)