Pisanello, Antonio

(bef. 1395-1455)

   The last of the Italian painters to work in the International Style, a mode he learned from his master, Gentile da Fabriano. Pisanello was born in Verona to a Pisan family. He was active in the courts of Milan, Ferrara, and Rimini, working primarily as a medallist. He achieved great fame during his lifetime, as attested by a number of poems written in his honor. His most famous work is the St. George and the Princess (c. 1437-1438), a fresco in the Pellegrini Chapel in the Church of Sant' Anastasia, Verona. Here St. George arrives to rescue the princess of Libya who has been offered as sacrifice to a dragon. The scene is a courtly representation with elegant knights, horses, and even a castle in the background. Pisanello had a particular interest in the depiction of animals, denoted here by the different angles in which he presents the horses. His Vision of St. Eustace (c. 1440; London, National Gallery) also demonstrates his interest in this genre. The saint was converted to Christianity when, during a hunt, he saw the figure of the crucified Christ between the antlers of a stag. Pisanello's rendering shows the saint mounted on a horse experiencing the vision while surrounded by animals of prey and hunting dogs. Pisanello was also an accomplished portraitist. His Portrait of Lionello d'Este (1441; Bergamo, Accademia Carrara) and the Portrait of a Princess from the d'Este House (1436-1438; Paris, Louvre) show the sitters in profile in emulation of ancient Roman coinage to give a sense of permanence. The abundant patterning and emphasis on courtly elegance in these paintings are characteristic of Pisanello's art and the features that place him among the leading masters of the International Style.