A Bird Perched on a Branch with Fruit

1460s (?)

Andrea Mantegna

Associated Names
Andrea Mantegna

Artist, Paduan, c. 1431 - 1506

The artwork is a detailed, monochromatic drawing depicting a bird perched on a curved branch. The bird is centrally positioned, facing right, with its wings partially open and its body covered in intricately drawn feathers. The texture of the feathers is shown through fine linework. The bird holds a piece of fruit in its beak, which is attached to a leafy branch extending from the right side of the composition. The background features a cross-hatching pattern. The artwork is signed with the initials "JCR" in the lower left corner.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and brown ink on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Andrew W. Mellon Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall: 10.5 × 11.5 cm (4 1/8 × 4 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1976.33.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Jonathan Richardson, Senior [1665-1745], London (Lugt 2183); Thomas Philipe [d. c. 1817], London; sold 1808 to William Roscoe [1753-1831], Liverpool; Winstanley, Liverpool, 25 September 1816, 298; William Dyce [1806-1864], Edinburgh and London; John Charles Robinson [1824-1913], London (Lugt 1433); sold c. 1860 to John Malcolm [1805-1893], Poltalloch; given before 1876 to A.E. Gathrone-Hardy [1845-1918], Newbury; by descent; Sotheby's London, 28 April 1976, 7; purchased (via Colnaghi's) by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1978

  • Master Drawings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art and Promised Gifts, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978, p. 33.

1988

  • Italian Renaissance Drawings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1988, no cat.

1992

  • Andrea Mantegna, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1992, no. 72.

  • Andrea Mantegna, Royal Academey of Arts, London, 1992, no. 72.

2014

  • The Poetry of Light - La poesia della luce: Venetian Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, Museo Correr, Venice, Venice, 2014 - 2015, no. 3.

Bibliography

1908

  • Vasari Society,_Part III (1907-1908): no. 6.

1955

  • Tietze-Conrat, Erika. Mantegna: Paintings, Drawings, Engravings. New York, 1955: 204-205.

1958

  • Mezzetti, Amalia."Un Ercole e Anteo' del Mantegna. Bollettino d'Arte, 1958: 232-244.

1971

  • Loan Exhibition of Drawings by Old Masters from the Collection of Mr. Geoffrey Gathorne-Hardy. London, 1971: no. 19.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 662, no. 1046, color repro.

1986

  • Lightbown, R.W. Mantegna, with a complete catalogue of the paintings, drawings and prints. Oxford, 1986: no.187, pl. 217, 484.

1992

  • Hirst, Michael.London and New York: Mantegna. The Burlington Magazine, 1992: 318-321.

  • Boorsch, Suzanne, et al. Andrea Mantegna. Exh. cat. Royal Academy of Arts, London; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. London and Milan, 1992: 277-278.

1993

  • Goldner, George R.Andrea Mantegna. Master Drawings, 1993: 172-176.

2001

  • Fletcher, Shelley. "A Closer Look at Mantegna's Prints." Print Quarterly 18/1 (2001): 3-41, fig. 3.

2004

  • Salmazo, Alberta De Nicolò. Andrea Mantegna. Milan, 2004: 199, 258, fig. 11 (identifying information switched with fig. 12).

2008

  • Agosti, Giovanni and Dominique Thiebault.Mantegna: 1431-1506. Exh. cat. Musee du Louvre, Paris, 2008: 265-266.

Wikidata ID

Q64535756

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