Madonna and Child

Jacopo Bellini was the father of Gentile and Giovanni and a great painter in his own right, unfairly overshadowed by his son Giovanni. Here can be seen in embryo the use of spatial representation by a late Gothic painter, shown by the way in which the Christ child tries to come out at us, as if trying to bless us. It is no coincidence that Jacopo gave his son, perhaps his firstborn (Giovanni was probably illegitimate) the name of Gentile, after his master Gentile da Fabriano.

Labels by famous authors

“Giovanni Bellini was 80 years old when he painted this and Durer, visiting Venice dubbed him “still the best in painting”. Seating Mary on a cloth chair allowed him to play with a luminous colour palate: green watered silk against forested hill, gentle bluesky matched by the intense shade of her robe. There are symbols in landscape that talk of the passion to come, but the overriding mood is hope and serenity captured in the gesture of Christ’s blessing.“
Sarah Dunant