Venetian Renaissance Painters: Bellini, Titian, Tintoretto and More

The Venetian School flourished in Venice from the late 15th century to around 1580, driven by economic prosperity from trade. Aristocratic families funded art, leading to a demand for paintings. Key figures include Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516), who revolutionized Venetian painting with oil on canvas and natural light, and his brother Gentile Bellini (1429-1507), official portraitist for the Doges and later court artist to Sultan Mehmed II in Constantinople. Giorgione (1478-1510) is known for 'The Tempest', considered the first Western landscape, and 'Sleeping Venus'. Titian (1489-1576), a pupil of Bellini, produced major works like 'Assumption of the Virgin' and 'Bacchus and Ariadne'. Paolo Veronese (1528-1588) created large religious and mythological paintings, including 'The Wedding Feast at Cana'. Jacopo Tintoretto (1518-1594) painted 'Il Paradiso' for the Doge's Palace, the largest canvas painting in the world. His daughter Marietta Robusti (1555-1590), known as Tintoretta, was a leading female artist, though only her 'Self-Portrait' is definitively attributed to her.