lished by the use of mathematically precise perspective, is the influence of Brunelleschi. Andrea Mantegna was another 15th century painter. He was a prodigy that rendered in paint with skill from the age of 16 on. With the painting “St. James Led to His Execution” Mantegna established himself as a person who wasn’t afraid to break with traditional painting techniques, and adds a daring touch by painting from a ground up view of the scene. This was used because the painting was hung so tha the bottom of the painting was at the viewer’s eye level. Because of this the architecture looms intimidatingly, and is made more convincing by his use of scientific perspective.His desire for authenticity can be seen in every small detail, including the Roman soldiers’ costumes. It even extends to the use of wet drapery patterns, an invention of classical Greek sculpture that was then passed onto the Romans. We can also find a reference to Donatello in Mantegna’s rendering of the lean, tense bodies of the Roman soldiers. The intensity that Mantegna establishes by using these techniques hardly fits the subject matter, as the condemned saint, on the way to his execution, stops to bless a paralytic man and command him to walk. The onlookers facial expressions and gesture hint at how deeply this sight has stirred them. Mantegna has even painted a violent scene erupting off to the right as the crowd becomes agitated.In writing this paper, I assumed that you assigned the paintings in the Met because of their accessibility to engineering students who may not have any art books. I knew of these works as important stepping stones in the modern use of perspective, and I felt the need to write ...
