The Entombment with Three Birds

Art Historical Context

The Entombment with Three Birds is a striking Renaissance engraving created around 1500–1504 by Giovanni Antonio da Brescia after a design by the celebrated painter Andrea Mantegna. The work depicts the somber biblical moment of Christ’s burial, rendered with careful attention to the figures’ grief and the quiet dignity of the scene. The addition of three birds introduces a subtle symbolic element, possibly evoking themes of resurrection or the natural world’s response to the sacred event. As an engraving, this print played an important role in disseminating Mantegna’s compositions beyond the original painting or drawing. In the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, engravings allowed artists’ ideas to reach wider audiences across Europe, helping to spread the innovations of the Italian Renaissance. Giovanni Antonio da Brescia, known for his skilled reproductive prints, faithfully translated Mantegna’s distinctive style—marked by strong contours and sculptural forms—into the precise language of the copper plate. Measuring 45.7 by 35.3 centimeters, this impression belongs to the Rosenwald Collection at the National Gallery of Art. It offers modern viewers a window into how Renaissance masters used printmaking to explore both religious devotion and artistic expression.