Madonna with swallow and Child

The swallow that can almost be seen on the large green curtain is evidently a signature of the artist who, perhaps of Venetian origin, was certainly a pupil of Giovanni Bellini. The art of Mantegna's brother-in-law does not have sublime grace, and the composition shows an excessive rigidity in some areas, for example the Venetian landscape, opening up behind the couple, which is carried out in a much too simple manner. However, the beautiful hands of the Madonna and the complex folds of her red dress reveal the technique of an artist that is far from negligible and that channels the unrivaled magisterium of Giovanni in more frank ways.