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Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan
Giovanni Bellini · Renaissance & Mannerism
- Artist
- Giovanni Bellini (c. 1430–1516)
- Date
- c. 1501–1502
- Dimensions
- 61.6 x 45.1 cm
- Medium
- Oil on poplar
- Location
- National Gallery, London, United Kingdom
This portrait shows Leonardo Loredan, elected Doge of Venice in 1501, in his official robes and the distinctive horned cap, the corno ducale, against a deep blue background.
A closer look
Bellini presents the doge in the manner of an ancient Roman bust, half-length behind a marble parapet bearing the artist's signature. The cold, steady light picks out every wrinkle of the face, the thin lips and the calm, intelligent eyes, while the cream-and-gold damask robe, with its large buttons, is rendered with astonishing richness. The expression combines authority with a hint of a smile, as befits the head of a republic who was expected to be wise and reserved rather than a monarch.
History of the painting
In England the portrait belonged to the writer and collector William Beckford, famous for his Gothic Fonthill Abbey, and in 1844 the National Gallery in London bought it, one of its earliest Venetian acquisitions.
