Born from a family of painters, Giovanni Bellini is considered to have revolutionised Venetian painting during the High Renaissance. During his lifetime, his brother, Gentile, was surprisingly more highly regarded – although the opposite is true now, with Bellini one of the most famous Italian artists from this time period.
At the beginning of his long career, Bellini mastered the Renaissance techniques before adapting them and creating his own school of painting, focussed on a more sensuous and sumptuously coloured style.
His influence can be seen in the works of Titian, one of Bellini’s pupils, and he is considered essential to the development of the Italian Renaissance.
