Existing comment:
Sea Gods
Mantegna's engravings, more than any other printed source, inspired translations into sculptural plaquettes and bronze statuettes. The theme of his Battle of the Sea Gods, inspired by Roman sarcophagus reliefs, may be an allegory of the destructive forces of human jealousy, as indicated by the emaciated woman at left holding a tablet inscribed Invidia (Latin for envy). The print provided the model for the bronze Neptune and sea monster shown here and for a plaquette, Combat of Ichthyocentaurs. In Greek mythology, ichthyocentaurs were half-human marine gods with the forelegs of a horse and tail of a fish. |