Venice, known as La Serenissima (‘the most serene Republic’), was one of the wealthiest city states in Europe. By the 15th century this city built on the water had become a hub of international commerce. Its merchant fleet ran trade routes across the Mediterranean. Venice was culturally diverse but also politically stable, ruled by an elected leader known as the doge.
The Bellini family dominated painting in Venice. The family shared an interest in portraying the natural world. Giovanni, in particular, pioneered an approach that presented religious subjects in harmonious and expressive landscape settings. Later generations of painters, including Giorgione and Catena, looked to the serene light effects and brilliant colour of his work.
Venice also attracted artists from abroad, who in turn responded to and shaped Venetian painting. Antonello da Messina, from Sicily, brought ideas and techniques learnt from Northern Renaissance portraiture. The German artist Albrecht Dürer visited twice, taking inspiration from the work of Giovanni Bellini, whom he described as ‘very old but still the best painter of them all’.
