Giovanni Bellini: The Art of Contemplation

Following the arc of Bellinis career, from his early devotional paintings to his later, occasionally secular works, this book offers an in-depth appreciation of the Venetian master who dominated the Early Renaissance. Featuring nearly every extant Bellini work, as well as those of his contemporaries, this book brims with gorgeous Renaissance art. Author Johannes Grave focuses on some of the artists greatest works including Allegoria Sacra, the Brera Pietà, and the altarpiece of San Giobbeto explore how Bellini excelled in tempera before mastering oil painting. Grave discusses how Bellinis precise lines, his delicate facial expressions, and the subtle effects of light and shadow were used in his religious paintings as well as his portraiture and late mythological depictions. This book examines Bellinis life, including his complex relationships with his father Jacopo, his brother Gentile, and his brother-in-law Andrea Mantegna. It considers the original contexts of Bellinis works, and elucidates the ways in which these paintings were meant to be perceived. The book also links Bellinis devotional paintings with the poetic creations of his pupil Giorgione. An important contribution to the scholarship of Renaissance art, this masterful book reaffirms Bellinis status as one of Venices greatest painters. See more