MANTEGNA, Andrea
(b. 1431, Isola di Carturo, d. 1506, Mantova)

Grotesque Self-Portrait

1465-74
Walnut oil on plaster
Camera degli Sposi, Palazzo Ducale, Mantua

Mantegna left behind in the Camera degli Sposi not only his name, but also a self-portrait, which appears on the last wall to be painted. It is hidden away among the grotesques decorating the pillars. The artist is shown not as a member of the court, but as a silent observer of both them and the viewer.