Gentile Bellini
Born – Venice, Italy c.1429
Died – Venice, Italy c.1507
Gentile Bellini was highly honoured during his lifetime in Venice. He enjoyed the position of the town’s official painter, was made a Knight of the Empire in 1469 and was the court painter to the Turkish ruler Sultan Mahomet II in Constantinople. He is now probably best known for his large-scale narrative paintings, commissioned as decorations for the Scuole – powerful charitable clubs of the time. These pictures are a minutely detailed record of the building, costumes, decoration and personalities of fifteenth-century Venice. Indeed, his reputation for accuracy is such that the depiction of the Byzantine mosaics on the front of San Marco church in this painting is used as the basis for most discussion of the originals, which were subsequently destroyed. In Procession in Piazza San Marco, members of the Scuole of San Giovanni Evangelista are represented in the foreground, in their white habits. They are participating in the procession of the Holy Cross in St Mark’s Square, Venice, on April 25, 1444, while the women watch from the windows. During the procession, a merchant threw himself to the ground in front of the Cross to pray for his dying son; miraculously, the boy recovered from his illness immediately afterward.
Masterpieces:
- The Miracle of the Cross
- The Healing of Pietro Dei Ludovici
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
Books About gentile bellini
Gentile Bellini Et Sultan Mohammed Ii (French Edition)
Louis Thuasne
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Gentile Bellini (German Edition)
Jurg Meyer zur Capellen
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Ein Weiteres Sultansbild Von Gentile Bellini?
Franz Babinger
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