Collection: Giovanni Bellini

Giovanni Bellini was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father, but now that familial generational relationship is questioned. An older brother, Gentile Bellini, was more highly regarded than Giovanni during his lifetime, but the reverse is true today. His brother-in-law was Andrea Mantegna. Giovanni Bellini was considered to have revolutionised Venetian painting, moving it toward a more sensuous and colouristic style.

Through the use of clear, slow-drying oil paints, Giovanni created deep, rich tints and detailed shadings. His sumptuous colouring and fluent, atmospheric landscapes had a great effect on the Venetian painting school, especially on his pupils Giorgione and Titian. The Bellini cocktail is named in his honour.

His formative teachers included Jacopo Bellini. Notable paintings include Lamentation over the Dead Christ, Madonna with Blessing Child, Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Anne, and Madonna with sleeping Child. His practice spanned genre painting, landscape painting, and figure. His oeuvre belongs more precisely to the Venetian Renaissance current.