The National Gallery brings the artist’s work together for an exhibition that examines a story of art, family, rivalry, and personality. Here, Love London Love Culture rounds up the reviews… 

Giovanni Bellini, with later additions by Dosso Dossi and Titian, The Feast of the Gods, 1514–29.National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Widener Collection, (1942.9.1).Image courtesy of the Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

The Guardian: *** “Unfortunately, this exhibition embodies a scholarship that has lost sight of that revolutionary Renaissance.”

The Independent: ****** “By showing how they each tackled the same themes, particularly in the first decade when they worked together, the viewer is encouraged to notice where these masters of Renaissance painting converge, and where they remain distinct.”

The Telegraph: **** “The two were linked by family: in 1453, Mantegna married Bellini’s sister, Nicolosia. As this scholarly, beautiful exhibition makes clear, they were also linked by art, engaged in a creative dialogue that lasted for half a century, even though, for most of that time, they lived far apart.”

Evening Standard: ***** “This show is, above all, about looking: observing Mantegna and Bellini up close in these rarely gathered, spectacular pictures, seeing hints of influence and chasms of difference. On the scale of greatness, it’s a dead heat.”

The Times: **** “A side-by-side comparison sheds light on the particular talents of these two rival and related Renaissance masters.”

London Visitors: “This fascinating exhibition provides plenty of insight into the artistic development of Mantegna and Bellini in the 15th century and how their creative dialogue would have a profound effect on later artists in the Italian Renaissance.”

Mantegna and Bellini is on display at the National Gallery until the 27th January 2019. For more information visit: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/mantegna-and-bellini