Bellini, Jacopo

(active c. 1424-1471)

   The founder of a family of painters in Venice composed of his two sons, Gentile and Giovanni Bellini, and his son-in-law, Andrea Mantegna. Jacopo was trained by Gentile da Fabriano from whom he learned the International Style. In 1441, he is documented in Ferrara working in the court of Lionello d'Este alongside Antonio Pisanello. There he painted the Madonna of Humility with a Donor (c. 1450; Paris, Louvre) with Lionello kneeling in prayer in front of the Virgin. She and the Christ Child are of considerably larger proportions than the donor to signify their preeminence over mortals, this reiterated by the inscription on Mary's halo that hails her as "Queen of the World." In the distance the magi approach to worship the newly born Christ. Their presence, the emphasis on luxurious fabrics, gilding, and brilliant colors qualify this work as a masterpiece of the International Style. Though an accomplished painter, Jacopo is best known for his drawings. Two bound volumes of his works on paper are now housed in the London British Museum and Paris Louvre, respectively, and are believed to have functioned as instructional materials for his sons and pupils. The drawings present all sorts of subjects, including religious, archaeological, and mythological and are known to have inspired Venetian masters well into the 16th century.