“Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan” by Giovanni Bellini

“Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan” by Giovanni Bellini is part of a longheld Venetian tradition of painting formal portraits of the City’s rulers dressed in state robes. In Bellini’s picture, he is shown wearing his robes of state.

The hat and buttons are part of his official state wardrobe. The composition of the portrait is in the style of the sculpted portrait busts popular at the time and inspired by Roman sculpture.

Leonardo Loredan (1436 – 1521) was the 75th Doge or ruler of the Republic of Venice for twenty years, from 1501 until his death. Bellini’s portrait of Loredan was one of the first frontal portraits of a reigning Doge.

Before this period, mortals were portrayed in profile, while the frontal view was reserved for more religious subjects.

The Doge of Venice was the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice, a practice that lasted for 1,100 years from 697 to 1797.

Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state’s aristocracy. Commonly the man selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city.

The Republic of Venice was a financial and maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, as well as a significant center of commerce and art.

The city-state of Venice was one of the first real international financial centers, which made Venice one of the wealthiest cities before the Napoleonic era.

Giovanni Bellini

Giovanni Bellini was a Renaissance painter, who revolutionized Venetian painting, making it more sensuous and vibrant colors.

He was also famous for his portraiture and helped make this art form especially popular in Venice.

Bellini created deep, rich tints and detailed shadings, and his atmospheric landscapes had a significant effect on the Venetian painters, especially on his pupils Giorgione and Titian.

Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan

• Title:            Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan
• Artist:          Giovanni Bellini
• Created:      1501
• Medium:     oil on poplar wood
• Dimensions: 61.6 × 45.1 cm (24.2 × 17.7 in)
• Museum:     The National Gallery, London

Giovanni Bellini

• Name:         Giovanni Bellini
• Born:           c. 1430 – Venice
• Died:           1516 – Venice
• Movement: Renaissance
• Nationality: Italian
• Notable work:
  • Saint Francis in the Desert
  • Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan
  • Self-Portrait

Giovanni Bellini: A collection of paintings

A Tour of the National Gallery

15th Century Paintings

• “Arnolfini Portrait” by Jan van Eyck –  1434
• “The Battle of San Romano” by Paolo Uccello– 1440
• “Venus and Mars” by Sandro Botticelli – 1483
• “Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan” by Giovanni Bellini– 1501

16th Century Paintings

• “Mystic Nativity” by Sandro Botticelli – 1550
• “Virgin of the Rocks” by Leonardo da Vinci – 1506
• “The Madonna of the Pinks” by Raphael – 1507
• “The Raising of Lazarus” by Sebastiano del Piombo– 1519
• “Salvator Mundi” by Andrea Previtali – 1519
• “Bacchus and Ariadne” by Titian – 1523
• “The Ambassadors” by Hans Holbein the Younger – 1533
• “Mary Magdalene” by Girolamo Savoldo – 1540
• “Saint George and the Dragon” by Tintoretto – 1558
• “The Family of Darius before Alexander” by Paolo Veronese – 1567
• “Diana and Actaeon” by Titian – 1569
• “The Rape of Europa” by Paolo Veronese – 1570
• “The Death of Actaeon” by Titian – 1575
• “The Origin of the Milky Way” by Tintoretto – 1575

17th Century Paintings

• “Supper at Emmaus” by Caravaggio – 1601
• “Samson and Delilah” by Peter Paul Rubens – 1610
• “Christ in the House of Martha and Mary” by Diego Velázquez – 1618
• “The Judgement of Paris” by Peter Paul Rubens – 1635
• “Aurora abducting Cephalus” by Peter Paul Rubens – 1637
• “Equestrian Portrait of Charles I” by Anthony van Dyck – 1638
• “Venus at her Mirror” by Diego Velázquez – 1651
• “The Courtyard of a House in Delft” by Pieter de Hooch – 1658
• “Self Portrait at the Age of 63” by Rembrandt – 1669
• “A Young Woman standing at a Virginal” by Johannes Vermeer – 1670

18th Century Paintings

• “Bacchus and Ariadne” by Sebastiano Ricci – 1713
• “A Regatta on the Grand Canal” by Canaletto – 1740
• “Mr. and Mrs. Andrews” by Thomas Gainsborough – 1749
• “Eton College” by Canaletto – 1754
• “An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump” by Joseph Wright of Derby – 1768
• “Self-portrait in a Straw Hat” by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun – 1782

Venice: Bellini, Titian and Giorgione.

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“Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go.” 
– Truman Capote

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Photo Credit 1) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons