Synopses & Reviews
Situated between Western Europe and the civilizations of Byzantium and the Islamic world, Renaissance Venice was uniquely positioned at the crossroads of East and West. In the beautiful Adriatic city, ideas and aesthetics were exchanged and developed in a remarkable age of cultural fusion. Veniceand#8217;s distinctive architecture is already well known for integrating divergent cultural influences, but the impact of this synthesis on Venetian painting has not been fully explored. This gorgeous book focuses on the work of the remarkable Bellini family of paintersand#151;Jacopo and hisand#160; sons Gentile and Giovanniand#151;who transformed Venetian painting in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.The authors examine the influence of Venetian trade with the East on Bellini paintings; the Byzantine influence on Venetian art; the impact of a visit to Mehmed IIand#8217;s court in 1479 on Gentile Bellini, as well as his effect on Eastern-trained artists there; and much more. The book is abundantly illustrated with the Bellini familyand#8217;s paintings and examples of the Eastern objects that inspired them.
Synopsis
An investigation into the overlapping cultures of East and West in Renaissance Venice through the work of the supremely talented Bellini family
About the Author
Caroline Campbell is curator of paintings at the Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, formerly assistant curator at the National Gallery. Alan Chong is curator at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. Deborah Howard, reader in architectural history and fellow at St. Johnand#8217;s College, Cambridge, is the author of Venice and the East and The Architectural History of Venice, both published by Yale University Press. J. Michael Howard is professor of art and archaeology at the University of London.