Andrea Mantegna: Padua and Mantua by Keith Christiansen This volume treats the two major fresco cycles of Andrea Mantegna (c. 1431-1506), born in Padua, and one of the most brilliant talents of the Renaissance. Mantegna's early fresco cycle in the Ovetari Chapel of the Eremitanti Chirch in Padua (largely destroyed in World War II) revealed the breadth of his literary, archeological, and pictorial learning. In the Ducal Palace at Mantua, Mantegna performed the heroic feat of pictorial illusionism, producing the first completely consistent illusionistic decoration of the entire room---the so-called Camerca Picta. This fresco is one of the most admired and frequently visited sites in Italy. This book is part of George Braziller, Inc.'s series, The Great Fresco Cycles of the Italian Renaissance. CL, ISBN: 0807613274 $25.00 (Can: $37.50)