Pisanello, Iloriginal name Antonio Pisano  ( born c. 1395 , Pisa [Italy]—died 1455 )  Italian medalist and painter, a major exponent of the International Gothic style. His early work suggests that he was the pupil of Stefano da Zevio, a Veronese artist. (He was wrongly called Vittore by Giorgio VasaríVasari, and only in 1907 was his personal name verified as Antonio.)

Pisanello collaborated with Gentile da Fabriano on frescoes in the Doges’ Palace in Venice (c. 1415–22) and in St. John Lateran in Rome (after 1427). After Gentile’s death, Pisanello probably completed the Roman frescoes, known only through drawings, which show Gentile’s great influence over the young Pisanello. His Until 1969, when layers of plaster were removed from the walls of the Sala del Pisanello in Mantua’s Palazzo Ducale to reveal a series of Pisanello’s frescoes depicting scenes of war and chivalry, his only surviving frescoes are were thought to have been an Annunciation at the tomb of Niccolò di Brenzoni in San Fermo in Verona (c. 1423–24) and the legend of St. George in the Pellegrini Chapel in San Anastasia, Verona (c. 1433–38). These works are characterized by the curvilinear design, calligraphic draperies, and decorative detail typical of the International Gothic style from which Pisanello never completely freed himself. Even a mature work such as his “St. Eustace” (National Gallery, London) St. Eustace is encrusted with rich detail that tends to work against spatial clarity. The “Madonna Madonna with SS. Anthony and George” (National Gallery) George displays a simpler conception. It is dominated by the monumental figures of the two saints and the bust of the Virgin in a mandorla, or almond-shaped aureole.

Pisanello’s fame and his importance in court circles rested more upon his medals than upon his painting. They are thought to have resulted from his study of ancient Greek and Roman numismatic portraits. He had virtually no recent predecessors, and, with him, the art reached its highest point. His work includes the medal of the Greek emperor John VIII Palaeologus (1438), the wedding medal of Lionello d’Este (1444), Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta (1445), and the medal of Alfonso of Aragon (1448), generally cited as his most successful work in the genre. Most of Pisanello’s painted portraits, such as the “Margherita Gonzaga” Margherita Gonzaga (c. 1438; Louvre, Paris), and “Lionello d’Este” Lionello d’Este (c. 1440; Accademia Carrara, Bergamo), show the sitter in profile (a convention of Pisanello’s portrait medals) against a background of delicate, colourful flowers and butterflies.


Joanna Woods-Marsden, The Gonzaga of Mantua and Pisanello’s Arthurian Frescoes (1988).