House of Street Fratelli Bandiera

Situated at numbers 17 and 23 on Via Fratelli Bandiera, this house is an exceptional example of painted Mantuan façades, given its size and the impact of its colours. Although the exterior of the house features motifs that date back to before the Renaissance, such as the Gothic-outline brick window, at the centre of the decorative elements are multi-coloured interwoven tondos that also appear in Mantegna's Camera degli Sposi and the famous hall at the Castello di San Giorgio. This motif, which can in fact be attributed to Donatello given that it was also used for the Altar of Sant'Antonio in Padua, was extremely common throughout the city. In this case, it is depicted with a particular intensity and grace, in closer proximity to the sublime source from which it is taken.