Gentile Bellini
Gentile Bellini (c.1429-1507), Venetian painter,
was one of the Bellini family of painters; his father was Jacopo
Bellini and his brother was Giovanni Bellini. Gentile is best known
for his paintings that captured the appearance of Venice in his
days, and this works are valuable portrayals of life in a city during
the late 1400's. He was also noted for his portrait painting and
episodes from the lives of early Christian saints.
His work includes large decoration of the Scuola
Grande di San Marco (1470s) in conjunction with his brother Giovanni,
and the Procession of the Relic of the Cross in the Piazza di San
Marco (1496). In 1478 he was chosen by the government of Venice
to go to Constantinople to paint Sultan Mahomet II. Subsequently
an Oriental flavor of the Islamic painting tradition appeared in
several of his paintings, including the portrait of a Turkish artist
and St. Mark Preaching at Alexandria. The last was completed by
his brother, Giovanni Bellini.
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