Pisanello was a medallist, and a fresco and panel painter. His rare surviving panel paintings, such as the two in the National Gallery, are characterised by the exquisite detail and careful observation of a miniaturist.
His name appears to have been Vittore Pisano; he was perhaps born in Verona. He is recorded in Pisa, Venice, Florence, Mantua, Rome, Ferrara, Milan and Naples. Most notably he was employed at the d'Este court at Ferrara and the Gonzaga court at Mantua.
The decorative nature of Pisanello's painting is derived mainly from the work of early 15th-century artists, whose works share his opulence and concern for surface design. Gentile da Fabriano was among this group; Pisanello collaborated with Gentile, and inherited his studio equipment when he died.
Pisanello's subjects include Arthurian legends and other courtly stories. They reflect the chivalric ideals of his noble patrons. A number of drawings are attributed to Pisanello, in particular a collection in the Louvre. These include exquisite line drawings of various animals, which seem to form the basis of a number of details used in painted works, including the Gallery's 'Saint Eustace'.
Pisanello
about 1394? - 1455
Paintings by Pisanello
This puzzling painting seems to be a picture in two halves. At the top the Virgin and Child embrace in a gilded sunburst. Below, Saint Anthony Abbot rings his bell and glowers at an elegant knight. This is Saint George, dressed in fifteenth-century armour, and a stylish straw hat – a contemporary...
We are looking at a miraculous event. An elegantly dressed huntsman has been stopped in his tracks by an apparition: a large stag with a Crucifix between its antlers. This is Saint Eustace, a Roman soldier who, while out hunting one day, had a vision of a stag with Christ on a shining cross betwe...