Andreas Mantegna

Frederick Richard Pickersgill (after) 1820 - 1900

Summary

One of '10 copies of mosaic wall decorations at the South Kensington Museum'. Italian painter Andreas Mantegna (c.1431-1506) stands looking out to the right, holding an illustrated slab of stone. His inscription at the bottom reads: "Andrea Mantegna. Italian painter B.1430 D.1506.". Acquired as 'one of 10 copies of mosaic wall decorations at the South Kensington Museum'. The construction and decoration of the South Court of the Victoria and Albert Museum by Godfrey Sykes between 1860 and 1862 was further embellished 1862-71 with a series of life-size full-length portraits in mosaic of great artists which came to be known as the 'Kensington Valhalla'. The mosaics were in the paired niches above the main arches. Several leading contemporary artists supplied the full-size designs (which are in the V&A collections), including Cope, Leighton, Poynter, and Watts.