Giovanni Bellini
BIOGRAPHY
"Brother of Gentile and son of Jacopo, Giovanni Bellini was probably the greatest of the Bellini dynasty. He was the pre-eminent teacher of his generation, with a sizeable workshop staffed by pupils and assistants, among whom were Giorgione and Titian. Like his brother, he became chief painter to the State, although Titian tried desperately to usurp him. In 1506, when Giovanni was 76, Dürer wrote that he was 'very old but still the best in painting'. Bellini portrayed the elected ruler of Venice, the Doge Leonardo Loredan. In this style of portraiture he was strongly influenced by a characteristic Flemish attention to detail and texture, especially the play of light on the surface of the subject. The Doge is exquisitely protrayed in his ceremonial robes, made in an old-fashioned style but from a newly imported material - damask - which has gold thread running through it. Instead of using gold leaf, Bellini painted the surface roughly so as to catch the light and give a metallic finish - a revolutionary technique at the time."- From "The A-Z of Art: The World's Greatest and Most Popular Artists and Their Works", by Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson