Descent into Limbo (Mantegna) explained

Descent into Limbo
Artist:	Andrea Mantegna
Year:	1492
Medium:	tempera and gold on panel
Height Metric:	38.8
Width Metric:	42.3
City:	Unknown

Descent into Limbo is a 1492 tempera and gold on panel painting by Andrea Mantegna, now in the Barbara Piasecka Johnson Collection in Princeton, New Jersey. It depicts the Descent into Limbo of Jesus Christ. There are also drawings of the subject by Mantegna in the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, whilst Giovanni Bellini also painted the subject.

Missing part

Studies for the catalogue Accademia Carrara, Bergamo Dipinti Italiani del Trecento e del Quattrocento (edited by Giovanni Valagussa), included a painting owned by the Accademia Carrara (Bergamo) from 1866. It had formerly been considered to be a studio work, under the title Resurrection. During the studies it was re-identified as the upper part of Descent into Limbo, thanks to a small cross divided between the two parts.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Bibliography

• Tatjana Pauli, Mantegna, serie Art Book, Leonardo Arte, Milano 2001.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Bergamo, scoperto un Mantegna all'Accademia Carrara: si pensava fosse un'opera di bottega, vale 30 milioni di dollari. 22 May 2018. Italian.
2. Web site: Bergamo, è di Mantegna la 'Resurrezione di Cristo' all'Accademia Carrara. Italian.
3. Web site: L'Accademia Carrara di Bergamo scopre un Mantegna in magazzino Parte di un'opera milionaria. 22 May 2018. Italian.
4. News: How a $30 Million Renaissance Masterpiece Was Found. Hooper. John. 21 May 2018. The Wall Street Journal. 23 May 2018. 0099-9660.