Pisanello (c. 1395 – probably 1455), known professionally as Antonio di Puccio Pisano or Antonio di Puccio da Cereto, also erroneously called Vittore Pisano by Giorgio Vasari, is one of the most distinguished painters of the early Italian Renaissance and Quattrocento.
He is acclaimed by poets such as Guarino da Verona and praised by humanists of his time, who compare him to such illustrious names as Cimabue, Phidias and Praxiteles.
Pisanello is known for his resplendent frescoes in large murals, elegant portraits, small easel pictures, and many brilliant drawings.
He is the most important commemorative portrait medallist in the first half of the 15th century.
He is employed by the Doge of Venice, the Pope in the Vatican and the courts of Verona, Ferrara, Mantua, Milan, Rimini, and by the King of Naples.
He stands in the high esteem of the Gonzaga and Este families.
Pisanello has many of his works wrongly ascribed to other artists such as Piero della Francesca, Albrecht Dürer and Leonardo da Vinci, to name a few.
While most of his paintings have perished, a good many of his drawings and medals have survived.
