User:Sumnerjones1/Giovanni Bellini

= Giovanni Bellini = From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigationJump to search "Giambellino" redirects here. For the district of Milan, see Giambellino-Lorenteggio. Giovanni Bellini ( Italian pronunciation: [dʒoˈvanni belˈliːni]; c. 1430 – 26 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. His father was Jacopo Bellini, his brother was Gentile Bellini (who was more highly regarded than Giovanni during his lifetime, although the reverse is true today), and his brother-in-law was Andrea Mantegna. He was considered to have revolutionized Venetian painting, moving it towards a more sensuous and colouristic style. Through the use of clear, slow-drying oil paints, Giovanni created deep, rich tints and detailed shadings. His sumptuous coloring and fluent, atmospheric landscapes had a great effect on the Venetian painting school, especially on his pupils Giorgione and Titian.

Contents

 * 1Life
 * 1.1Early career
 * 1.2Maturity
 * 1.3High Renaissance
 * 2Assessment
 * 3References
 * 4Further reading
 * 5External links

Early career[edit]
St. Jerome in the Desert, c. 1455; Tempera on panel; Barber Institute, Birmingham

Giovanni Bellini was born in Venice. He was brought up in his father's house, and always lived and worked in the closest fraternal relation with his brother Gentile. Up until the age of nearly thirty we find in his work a depth of religious feeling and human pathos which is his own. His paintings from the early period are all executed in the old tempera method: the scene is softened by a new and beautiful effect of romantic sunrise color (as, for example, in the St. Jerome in the Desert).

In a changed and more personal manner, he drew Dead Christ pictures (In these days one of the master's most frequent themes e.g. Dead Christ Supported by the Madonna and St. John, or Pietà). with less harshness of contour, a broader treatment of forms and draperies and less force of religious feeling. Giovanni's early works have often been linked both compositionally and stylistically to those of his brother-in-law, Andrea Mantegna.

In 1470 Giovanni received his first appointment to work along with his brother and other artists in the Scuola di San Marco, where among other subjects he was commissioned to paint a Deluge with Noah's Ark. None of the master's works of this kind, whether painted for the various schools or confraternities or for the ducal palace, has survived.

Maturity[edit]
Christ Blessing, 1500; Tempera, oil, and gold on panel; Kimbell Art Museum, Texas.

To the decade following 1470 must probably be assigned the Transfiguration now in the Capodimonte Museum of Naples, repeating with greatly ripened powers and in a much serener spirit the subject of his early effort at Venice.

Also likely from this period is the great altar-piece of the Coronation of the Virgin at Pesaro, which would seem to be his earliest effort in a form of art previously almost monopolized in Venice by the rival school of the Vivarini.

As is the case with a number of his brother, Gentile's public works of the period, many of Giovanni's great public works are now lost. The still more famous altar-piece painted in tempera for a chapel in the church of S. Giovanni e Paolo, where it perished along with Titian's Peter Martyr and Tintoretto's Crucifixion in the disastrous fire of 1867. Madonna and Child with the Infant St. John the Baptist, c. 1480; oil; Indianapolis Museum of Art

After 1479–1480 much of Giovanni's time and energy must also have been taken up by his duties as conservator of the paintings in the great hall of the Doge's Palace. The importance of this commission can be measured by the payment Giovanni received: he was awarded, first the reversion of a broker's place in the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, and afterwards, as a substitute, a fixed annual pension of eighty ducats. Besides repairing and renewing the works of his predecessors he was commissioned to paint a number of new subjects, six or seven in all, in further illustration of the part played by Venice in the wars of Frederick Barbarossa and the pope. These works, executed with much interruption and delay, were the object of universal admiration while they lasted, but not a trace of them survived the fire of 1577; neither have any other examples of his historical and processional compositions come down, enabling us to compare his manner in such subjects with that of his brother Gentile.

Of the other, the religious class of his work, including both altar-pieces with many figures and simple Madonnas, a considerable number have been preserved. They show him gradually throwing off the last restraints of the Quattrocento manner; gradually acquiring a complete mastery of the new oil medium introduced in Venice by Antonello da Messina about 1473, and mastering with its help all, or nearly all, the secrets of the perfect fusion of colors and atmospheric gradation of tones. The old intensity of pathetic and devout feeling gradually fades away and gives place to a noble, if more worldly, serenity and charm. The enthroned Virgin and Child (such as the one at left) become tranquil and commanding in their sweetness; the personages of the attendant saints gain in power, presence and individuality; enchanting groups of singing and viol-playing angels symbolize and complete the harmony of the scene. The full splendour of Venetian color invests alike the figures, their architectural framework, the landscape and the sky.

High Renaissance[edit]
Madonna and Child with John the Baptist and Saint Elizabeth An interval of some years, no doubt chiefly occupied with work in the Hall of the Great Council, seems to separate the San Giobbe Altarpiece, and that of the church of San Zaccaria at Venice. Formally, the works are very similar, so a comparison between serves to illustrate the shift in Bellini's work over the last decade of the 15th century. Both pictures are of the Holy Conversation (sacred conversation between the Madonna and Saints) type. Both show the Madonna seated on a throne (thought to allude to the throne of Solomon), between classicizing columns. Both place the holy figures beneath a golden mosaicked half dome that recalls the Byzantine architecture in the basilica of St. Mark. San Zaccaria Altarpiece, 1505; oil on canvas, transferred from panel; San Zaccaria, Venice

In the later work Bellini depicts the Virgin surrounded by (from left): St. Peter holding his keys and the Book of Wisdom; the virginal St. Catherine and St. Lucy closest to the Virgin, each holding a martyr's palm and her implement of torture (Catherine a breaking wheel, and Lucy a dish with her eyes); St. Jerome, with a book symbolizing his work on the Vulgate.

Stylistically, the lighting in the San Zaccaria piece has become so soft and diffuse that it makes that in the San Giobbe appear almost raking in contrast. Giovanni's use of the oil medium had matured, and the holy figures seem to be swathed in a still, rarefied air. The San Zaccaria is considered perhaps the most beautiful and imposing of all Giovanni's altarpieces, and is dated 1505, the year following that of Giorgione's Madonna of Castelfranco.

Other late altarpiece with saints include that of the church of San Francesco della Vigna at Venice, 1507; that of La Corona at Vicenza, a Baptism of Christ in a landscape, 1510; and that of San Giovanni Crisostomo at Venice of 1513.

Of Giovanni's activity in the interval between the altar-pieces of San Giobbe and San Zaccaria, there are a few minor works left, though the great mass of his output perished with the fire of the Doge's Palace in 1577. The last ten or twelve years of the master's life saw him besieged with more commissions than he could well complete. Already in the years 1501–1504 the marchioness Isabella Gonzaga of Mantua had had great difficulty in obtaining delivery from him of a picture of the Madonna and Saints (now lost) for which part payment had been made in advance. The Feast of the Gods, c. 1514 completed by his disciple, Titian, 1529; oil on canvas; National Gallery of Art, Washington

In 1505 she endeavoured through Cardinal Bembo to obtain from him another picture, this time of a secular or mythological character. What the subject of this piece was, or whether it was actually delivered, we do not know.

Albrecht Dürer, visiting Venice for a second time in 1506, describes Giovanni Bellini as still the best painter in the city, and as full of all courtesy and generosity towards foreign brethren of the brush.

In 1507 Bellini's brother Gentile died, and Giovanni completed the picture of the Preaching of St. Mark which he had left unfinished; a task on the fulfillment of which the bequest by the elder brother to the younger of their father's sketch-book had been made conditional.

In 1513 Giovanni's position as sole master (since the death of his brother and of Alvise Vivarini) in charge of the paintings in the Hall of the Great Council was threatened by one of his former pupils. Young Titian desired a share of the same undertaking, to be paid for on the same terms. Titian's application was granted, then after a year rescinded, and then after another year or two granted again; and the aged master must no doubt have undergone some annoyance from his sometime pupil's proceedings. In 1514 Giovanni undertook to paint The Feast of the Gods for the duke Alfonso I of Ferrara, but died in 1516.

He was interred in the Basilica di San Giovanni e Paolo, a traditional burial place of the doges.

Assessment[edit]
St. Francis in Ecstasy, 1480; oil and tempera on panel; Frick Collection, New York.

See also: List of works by Giovanni Bellini

Both in the artistic and in the worldly sense, the career of Bellini was, on the whole, very prosperous. His long career began with Quattrocento styles but matured into the progressive post-Giorgione Renaissance styles. He lived to see his own school far outshine that of his rivals, the Vivarini of Murano; he embodied, with growing and maturing power, all the devotional gravity and much also of the worldly splendour of the Venice of his time; and he saw his influence propagated by a host of pupils, two of whom at least, Giorgione and Titian, equalled or even surpassed their master. Giorgione he outlived by five years; Titian, as we have seen, challenged him, claiming an equal place beside his teacher. Other pupils of the Bellini studio included Girolamo Galizzi da Santacroce, Vittore Belliniano, Rocco Marconi, Andrea Previtali and possibly Bernardino Licinio.

In the historical perspective, Bellini was essential to the development of the Italian Renaissance for his incorporation of aesthetics from Northern Europe. Significantly influenced by Antonello da Messina and other contemporary trends of the time, such as oil painting, Bellini introduced the pala, or single-panel altarpieces, to Venetian society with his work Coronation of the Virgin. Certain details in this piece, such as breaks in the modeling of figures and shadows, imply that Bellini was still working to master the use of oil. This painting also differs from previous Coronation scenes as it appears as a "window" to a natural scene, and excludes the typical accompanying Paradise hosts. The simple scenery allows viewers to relate with more ease to the scene itself than before, reflecting Alberti's humanist and inventio concepts. He also utilized the disguised symbolism integral to the Northern Renaissance. Bellini was able to master the Antonello style of oil painting and surface texture, and use this new skill to create a refined and distinctly Venetian approach to painting. He blends this new technique with Venetian and Byzantine traditions of iconography and color to create a spiritual theme not found in Antonello's pieces. The realism of oil painting coupled with the religious traditions of Venice were unique elements to Bellini's style which set him apart as one the most innovative to Venetian Renaissance painting. As demonstrated in such works as St. Francis in Ecstasy (c. 1480) and the San Giobbe Altarpiece (c. 1478), Bellini makes use of religious symbolism through natural elements, such as grapevines and rocks. Yet his most important contribution to art lies in his experimentation with the use of color and atmosphere in oil painting.

The Bellini (cocktail) is named in his honor.

Spanish Museums own a scarce but high-quality presence of his Works. The Prado Museum owns a Virgin and child between two Saints, with the collaboration of the workshop. The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum preserves a Nunc Dimittis, and The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando holds a Saviour.

MY OUTLINE/PLAN IS BELOW TO FIX UP THIS ARTICLE

All evidence/quotes are italicized and marked with appropriate citation*

1.    Introduction:

get down to brass tacks, more details which grab attention of reader. There is too much fluffabout his style as an artist. Hit the reader with some better facts.

Bellini active for close to seven decades, 1450-1516 (Goffen)

“In a sonnet of praise of Bellini, Nicoló Liburnio declaimed that Alexander the Great would have chosen Bellini over Apelles as his artist had they been contemporaries an elegant emendation of the traditional humanist compliment to painters praised as a ‘second Apelles’” (Goffen)

Did not usually date his compositions (Goffen)

                  220 surviving paintings attributed to him

                  One of his first dated paintings was in 1487 when he was over 50 years old

ii.

2.    Life

Early career

There are too many little meaningless details about his style on dead christ. Provide some better insight as to how he got started painting perhaps, who taught him, where did he paint, what was his attitude toward painting, was he good at the beginning.The third paragraph is a total mess and there is no continuity

''Giovanni Bellini was born in the beautiful city of Venice in around 1430 to father Jacopo who himself was an artist of a moderate level. Jacopo quickly introduced to the artistic world and taught him about the Florentine Renaissance, hoping it might inspire his son to follow in his footsteps. (GB Biography)''

''                                    Jacopo brought his two sons into his workshop as assistants and it was from here that they would start to build an interest in their father's work as well as displaying early signs of promise. (GB biography)''

3.     Influence of style order: (Goffen)

Originally assumed to be influenced by Andrea Mantegna

                                                                  “Early in his career Giovanni's paintings, both large altarpieces and small devotional panels, were primarily of religious subjects.” (NGA)

                                                            He focused at first on small paintings intended for private devotion (Gasparotto)

                                                              The first twenty years of his career were devoted to religious scenes, capturing multiple versions of Madonnas, Pietàs and Crucifixions before starting to branch out into other genres (GB biography)                                                              

                                     Style change by contact with art of Piero Della Francesca

''                                                                       later creating portraits of poignant intensity as well as some of the most innovative altarpieces of the period. (Gasparotto)''

                                      Final change when DaVinci introduced high renaissance art to Venice

                                                                        toward the end of his long life, he added the new genres of mythological and secular allegory to his repertory (Gasparotto)

''                                                                       Bellini’s paintings present expressively charged interpretations of characters and symbols, familiar from sacred stories, immersed in a realm of lived experience to a degree that was entirely unprecedented in Italian artistic tradition. (Gasparotto)''

''                                                                                                                  iii. ''

                                                                     “The traditional view presents Bellini as a contradictory figure and undeniably one of the greatest masters of painting, yet dependent on others for direction; innovative, yet slow to develop at the beginning of his career, and at the end somewhat reluctant or unable to accept challenge and change.” (Goffen)  

 The son of Jacopo Bellini and brother of Gentile, Giovanni was born into a family of artists (NGA)

''   Questions have also been raised concerning his possible illegitimacy: unlike his two brothers Niccolò and Gentile, Giovanni is not mentioned in the 1471 will of Jacopo's wife, Anna Rinversi. (NGA)''

''   Among the latter he seems to have had a special affinity for "Madonna and Child" compositions, which he produced in innumerable variations and for which his workshop became justly renowned. His portraits of well-to-do Venetians also found particular favor.(NGA)''

4. Maturity

i.     First three paragraphs have little continuity and keep talking about paintings getting lost, this is a big deal! Readers will ask the question, why are paintings getting lost and how? Add some more detail about this in this section. The last two paragraphs are a bit of a mess. The writing is weak and a lot of it is descriptive fluff, with no citations.I would gather more basic info about Bellini during this defined period of “maturity” and either add where necessary or change altogether.

''He is very old and yet he is the best painter of all. Albrecht Dürer, 1506. German painter and printmaker (Gasparotto)''

''                                                                           It was not too long before Bellini had set up a large studio from where his assistants could aid him in completing some of his larger commissions whilst also picking up technical skills themselves. The two greatest names to come from here were Titian and Giorgione, the latter actually passing away before his master. They would promote the achievements of Bellini whilst also adding an extra layer of their own creativity on top. (GB biography)''

5. High renaissance

i.     The section opens with a crummy description of a painting rather than what was going on in that period why we are choosing to categorize this period as different from any others.

Bellini was among a number of painters of his generation who championed the shift from the use of egg tempera, traditional in Italy, to the technique of oil pioneered in the Netherlands, occasionally using both binding agents in the same work (Gasparotto)

ii. Paragraphs 2 and 3 simply describe a painting with subjective language, there is no historical context or interesting tid-bits about      Bellini during this time that we should add to spice it up a little bit

Bellini employed landscape as a device to complement religious subjects and to enhance the meditational role of his paintings, which were typically intended for the private devotion of highly sophisticated patrons (Gasparotto)

iii. The last paragraph talks about how Titian, a past pupil, started to challenge the old master. This could be an interesting aera to unpack or expand upon, maybe some juicy details or second hand accounts?

3.    Assessment

a.    There are a lot of factual claims that are backed by no citation

b.    First paragraph seems pretty decent at first glance

c.    Second paragraph needs some work

i.     Add some detail or an addition section about how his legacy lives on (where are his biggest collections, have many survived?,

Goffen, R. (1995). Giovanni Bellini. New Haven, CT, etc.: Yale University Press.

Giovanni Bellini. (2020). National Gallery of Art. https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.936.html#biography

Gasparotto, D. (2017). Giovanni Bellini: Landscapes of Faith in Renaissance Venice (1st ed.). J. Paul Getty Museum.

Giovanni Bellini Biography. (2018). Retrieved October 24, 2020, from http://www.giovannibellini.org/biography/

Sources:

Maze, Daniel Wallace. "Giovanni Bellini: Birth, Parentage, and Independence." Renaissance Quarterly 66, no. 3 (2013): 783-823. Accessed September 21, 2020. doi:10.1086/673583.

Link: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/673583?seq=11#metadata_info_tab_contents

NYT article

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/13/arts/13iht-conway.1.18598620.html

Getty Museum

https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/artists/2974/giovanni-bellini-italian-about-14311436-1516/