Frescoes in the Cappella Ovetari in the Chiesa degli Eremitani, Padua (1448-57)

Mantegna's earliest surviving paintings are his frescoes in the chapel belonging to the Ovetari family in the Chiesa degli Eremitani (the church of the Hermits of St Augustine) in Padua. This church was built in the 13th century and is adjacent to the Arena Chapel. The greater part of the church was destroyed during the Second World War, so today we can gain an impression of the Ovetari Chapel only with the help of photographs and old descriptions. There are also, however, a few fragments of the frescoes that were preserved after being removed in the 19th century to prevent deterioration on the damp walls.

The patron for the frescoes was the notary Antonio Ovetari who provided the funds for the decoration of the family's funerary chapel in his will in 1443. The initial contracts for a series of frescoes were drawn up by the heirs of the notary in 1448. Works were commissioned from Giovanni d'Alemagna, Antonio Vivarini, Niccolò Pizzolo, and Mantegna. There is some indication that Mantegna (young as he was) may have been the originator of both the overall formal composition.

The side walls of the chapel area were dedicated to scenes from the lives of St James and St Christopher, and the apse wall, with its window apertures was to depict the Assumption of the Virgin. Mantegna probably painted the left wall with the scenes from the life of St James, which has been almost totally lost. Of the paintings on the opposite wall, dedicated to scenes from the life of St Christopher, two scenes at the bottom are by Mantegna. The Assumption of the Virgin on the altar wall is for the most part the work by Mantegna.