Venetian painting is characterized by deep, rich colors and a strong interest in the effects of light.
1400 - 1500
Beginner's guide
Venice had everything—a stable republican government led by a Doge (“Duke”), wealth from trade, and a unique location as a gateway between Western Europe and the Byzantine Empire.
videos + essays
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Guido Mazzoni, Head of a Man
Mazzoni, one of the foremost terracotta sculptors of Northern Italy during the Renaissance, incarnates clay with the spirit of a living person
Sala dei Mesi at Palazzo Schifanoia
The surviving decorations of Schifanoia offer modern viewers a precious glimpse of the splendorous forms that once adorned the d’Este’s numerous palaces and villas
Andrea Mantegna, Dead Christ
Mantegna was fascinated by perspective. His radical foreshortening and realism focus attention on Christ’s wounds.
Giovanni Bellini, Brera Pietà
Bellini zooms in on three figures—the Virgin Mary, Christ, and John—to create a sense of our being with them after Christ's death
Vittore Carpaccio, Miracle of the Relic of the Cross at the Rialto Bridge
A painting shows life on the Grand Canal of Venice, including Black gondoliers
Gentile Bellini, Portrait of Sultan Mehmed II
Gentile Bellini's portrait of Mehmed II has been re-interpreted and understood many times since it was produced nearly 550 years ago.
Carlo Crivelli, The Annunciation with Saint Emidius
What are Persian carpets, a peacock, and a cucumber doing in a painting of The Annunciation?
Guido Mazzoni, Lamentation in Ferrara
Clay becomes flesh in the remarkable terracotta sculptures of Italian renaissance artist Guido Mazzoni.
Guido Mazzoni and Renaissance Emotions
Guido Mazzoni created some of the most emotionally affecting life-size terracotta sculptures during the renaissance.
Do you speak Renaissance? Carlo Crivelli, Madonna and Child
What do a cucumber, a fly, figures in turbans, and ancient reliefs tell us about the Madonna and Child?
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