User:Glak12/San Giobbe Altarpiece

The San Giobbe Altarpiece is a Venetian Renaissance painting completed by Giovanni Bellini in the 1480s. It was made to be used as an altarpiece in the church of San Giobbe in Venice, located on the Cannaregio Canal, but it is now located in Venice's Gallerie dell'Accademia. The 471 cm x 258 cm oil on canvas depicts a Sacra Conversazione painting, a traditional genre of Renaissance altarpieces.

The rebuilding of San Giobbe Church was commissioned by Doge Cristoforo Moro in 1443. Many architects worked on the church, the most involved being Pietro Lombardo. San Giobbe church was one of the first buildings in Venice to have a persistent Renaissance style.

The San Giobbe Altarpiece marks a shift in altarpiece formats in Venice. Bellini merges together elements from the Florentine Renaissance and the traditional Venetian Gothic style. Many structural elements mirror those of Venetian architecture, however, the use of perspective and naturalism is derived from the emerging Renaissance style.

San Giobbe Church
Prior to the mid-fifteenth century, Venice had a very distinct architectural style that was independent from the rest of Italy. Venice's geographic location turned it into the meeting point of the East and the West. This was emblematic in venetian artistic and architectural style, fusing together stylistic components of the modern Italian Renaissance and the older Byzantine style. In the mid to late fifteenth century, however, Venice became increasingly influenced by the emerging Renaissance style of Central Italy. Art historians specifically cite this stylistic shift in the remodeling of the church of San Giobbe which started in the 1450s.

History of the Church
In 1378, Priest Giovanni Contarini built an oratory dedicated to San Giobbe and a hospital on his plot of land. Soon after his death, the land was entrusted to the Franciscan Order who commissioned the building of a Gothic styled church and convent.

In the 1440s the preaching of San Bernardino of Siena became very popular in Venice, specifically favored by Doge Cristoforo Moro. In 1443, he commissioned the remodeling of the church of San Giobbe to commemorate San Bernardino's preaching. Many architects were involved in the remodeling of the church and it is disputed who contributed what, however, some architects involved were Antonio Gambello and most commonly cited, Pietro Lombardo (also known as Pietro Solari). The church was eventually consecrated in 1493 to both San Giobbe and San Bernardino.

Architecture
The church was initially built in a Gothic style and then later additions under Doge Cristoforo Moro were done in the Tuscan Renaissance style. The remodeling efforts specifically show the increasing emergence of the contemporary Central Italian Renaissance style in Venice in the late fifteenth century. The Church of San Giobbe may also have been one of the first Renaissance styled architectures in Venice. Regardless of its heavy Renaissance influence, the simple nave without aisles and the side chapels lining the side are classical attributes of a Gothic style church. Giovanni Bellini mirrors this conglomeration of the Central Italian Renaissance style and the typical Venetian Gothic style architecture in his altarpiece painting.

Altarpiece Subject Matter and Visual Analysis
The contemporary function of fifteenth century Italian altarpieces to convey a greater sense of relatability to the congregation, evidently infleunced Bellini in his creation of the San Giobbe Altarpiece. Bellini introduced the new Central Italian style of pictorial depiction while retaining and accentuating typical Venetian elements within the painting.

Fifteenth Century Italian Renaissance Altarpieces
Altarpieces were very commonly commissioned by confraternities during the Renaissance. Altarpieces experienced a shift in style and subject matter during the fifteenth century in Italy. Altarpieces continued to serve as the backdrop to the mass, however, new commissions had a different intended mission. New altarpieces were meant to allow the viewer to experience the painting in a more relatable way, and to feel more connected to the subjects. Fifteenth century artists developed new ways in order to create altarpieces that could mediate a greater spiritual interaction with the congregation. They were meant to make the faith accessible to the common people, and painters accomplished this by painting in a naturalistic style and placing the holy figures within a realistic space on a single flat panel. This starkly contrasts the polyptych Gothic Altarpiece (commonly referred to as Byzantine icons) which placed the abstracted figures on a gold background functioning to emphasize the untouchability of the holy figures.

Sacra Conversazione
A Sacra Conversazione, or holy conversation, genre painting depicts Mary and Christ surrounded by Saints in an informal setting. The Saints depicted were all alive at different times or in different places and realistically would never have been in the same place at the same time, however, in this altarpiece they are brought together within the same figurative space.

The depicted saints are: St. Francis (front left), St. Giobbe (middle left), St. John the Baptist (back left), St. Sebastian (front right), St. Louise of Toulouse (middle right) and St. Dominick (back right). St. Francis can be identified by the typical Franciscan robe and the stigmata on his left hand. In the painting, St. Francis is gesturing with his right hand to the viewer to invite him into the scene. St. Giobbe, the patron saint of the church, is offering prayers in the direction of Mary and Jesus. St. Sebastian can be identified by the arrow going through his chest which is a symbol of his martyrdom. St. Dominic is often depicted in a black and white robe, while holding a book. St. Louise of Toulouse is commonly dressed in a Bishop's hat and robe, as seen in this altarpiece.

Even though sacra conversazione literally translates to sacred conversation, this counters the actions of the Saints within the painting; the Saints are not conversing or even interacting with one another. Each Saint appears to be involved in their own thought and prayer, which may function to invite the viewer into a similar deep prayer to help mediate their faith. There is a holy glow, accomplished by the use of oil paint, that brings the figures together under a united faith.

Many art historians claim this to be one of the greater artistic masterpieces of the late-fifteenth century in Venice. This painting is constantly used to study the influence of prior altarpieces, and compare the impact it had on future altarpieces. Some art historians have cited the influence of Antonello da Messina's, a Sicilian artist, visit to Venice in 1475 to complete the San Cassiano Altarpiece. Art historians cite Messina's influence on Venetian painting, specifically his mastery of oil paint to produce naturalistic depictions, deep vibrant colors and rich textures. Bellini's use of oil paint is not the only similarity to Messina's work, but also the pictorial scheme of Messina's San Cassiano altarpiece largely influences Bellini's San Giobbe Altarpiece. Other Art Historians also cite the influence of Piero della Francesca's work in nearby Urbino in 1474 on The Montefeltro Altarpiece. Francesca's altarpiece potentially influenced Bellini's placement of the Sacra Conversazione within a church interior. The two altarpieces differ, however, due to the establishment of viewpoint. Bellini set a low viewing point, so that that viewer remains looking up at the holy figures to establish a sense of veneration. Francesca places the viewer on the same level as the Holy figures, therefore mediating a greater sense of interaction between the congregation and the holy figures depicted.

Fictive Architecture
Bellini was one of the first artists in Venice to paint a typical Sacra Conversazione within the physical interior of a church. The utilization of a church as the background allows the painting to act as an extension of the interior of the physical church. The continuous relation of the frame and the fictive architecture within the painting reveals the influence of the contemporary Central Italian Renaissance focus on the use of space and proportion to create a sense of real space. The painting directly converses with the architecture of the frame (Bellini likely communicated with the architect of the frame and was involved in its design); the fictive columns in the painting mimic the pilasters of the frame, and the painted coffered barrel vault extends from the rounded arch of the frame. The matching of the architecture within the painting to the architecture of the church interior further heightens the realistic sense of the painting. Even further, the coffered barrel vault appears to extend into the viewers space, thus further blurring the separation of the fictive space within the painting and reality.

Ultimately, Bellini's construction of a realistic interior that is continuous with the church interior, functions to place the painted holy subjects within the physical church amongst the viewers. This increases the relatability of the altarpiece subject and thus could foster a greater sense of faith.

The architecture within the painting further cites its relationship with the city of Venice, specifically to the monumental St. Mark's Basilica. The gold mosaic apse looks exactly like the ones found found at St. Mark's. The decorative marble behind the Saints is an explicit reference to the looted marble that covers the exterior of St. Mark's.

Some Art Historians view the golden mosaic apse as a way for Bellini to reference the Venetian Gothic Altarpieces, while still establishing and utilizing the laws of logic and realism of space. The golden apse specifically functions to establish the Saints within a distinct ephemeral realm (the same reason why the color gold was often used in Gothic Altarpieces) and remind the viewer of their separateness from the holy figures.

Perspective and Geometry
Even though Bellini sets the figures within a fictive side chapel in order to place the viewer within the space of the saints, the position of the viewer leaves them gazing upwards at the Saints. The forced upward gaze emphasizes the distinction between the terrestrial viewer and the ephemeral Holy figures. Bellini further emphasizes the distinction between the ephemeral and the terrestrial by maintaining The Virgin and Child in a typical iconic static pose.

A signature trait of painting in the Renaissance is emphasis on stability, proportionality and order. Pyramids or triangular structures were also often used in religious paintings as a reference to the Holy Trinity; this can specifically be seen in Leonardo da Vinci's Virgin of the Rocks. Bellini creates a very ordered and balanced composition via the several concrete and stable triangles established by the figures in the painting. One pyramid structure is made by the three angels below Mary's feet. Mary's body creates a stable pyramid and two more triangles are created by the heads of each group of Saints on either side of Mary and Christ. The extensive use of triangles and geometry within this painting gives a sense of order and stability.

Oil Paint
Oil paint predominated over fresco painting in Venice, because the high humidity challenged the longevity of fresco paintings. The use of oil paint allows Bellini to complete the painting with a very painterly finish and utilize very vibrant shades of green, blue and red. Bellini manipulates the oil paint in order to profuse a sense of light and ephemeral glow amongst the Holy figures further accentuating their divinity. Mastery of oil paint enables vivid recreations of different textures which can be seen in the stone, angels' dresses, the figures' hair and even human flesh. Use of oil paint grants the artist great power, allowing extremely naturalistic depictions.