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The "Five Immortals" of Venetian Painting
The "Five Immortals" of Venetian Painting
POSTED NOVEMBER 7, 2019
The Renaissance, which began in Italy in the mid-fourteenth century, was a key step towards the creation of the modern era. Developments and revolutions in the arts and sciences began with the resurgence of interest in classical Greek and Roman sources. These ancient texts helped change the medieval mindset and affected how people viewed the world. This "humanism" was a worldlier, human outlook that focused on the ability of humans to act in accord with their God-given potential. The Renaissance saw the invention of linear perspective and chiaroscuro* in painting, sculptures based on Roman and Greek prototypes, the development and spread of vernacular literature, an increased reliance on observation in science, and the development of diplomatic conventions. The invention of the printing press in the 15th century helped the spread of literature and ideas across Europe.
The Renaissance, which began in Italy in the mid-fourteenth century, was a key step towards the creation of the modern era. Developments and revolutions in the arts and sciences began with the resurgence of interest in classical Greek and Roman sources. These ancient texts helped change the medieval mindset and affected how people viewed the world. This "humanism" was a worldlier, human outlook that focused on the ability of humans to act in accord with their God-given potential. The Renaissance saw the invention of linear perspective and chiaroscuro* in painting, sculptures based on Roman and Greek prototypes, the development and spread of vernacular literature, an increased reliance on observation in science, and the development of diplomatic conventions. The invention of the printing press in the 15th century helped the spread of literature and ideas across Europe.
In her novel Optic Nerve, Maria Gainza mentions "The Five Immortals" of Venetian painting. According to a New Yorker art critic, these "five undisputed immortals of Venetian painting" are Tintoretto, Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, and Veronese - painters whose lives spanned the Italian High Renaissance and whose works helped redefine painting in the Western world. In addition to the Renaissance linear perspective and more humanistic approach to their subjects, Venetian painters are renowned for their emphasis of color over line. Below are brief descriptions of these each painter's individual style**, an example of their work, and, for Titian and Tintoretto, links to several informative posts.
In her novel Optic Nerve, Maria Gainza mentions "The Five Immortals" of Venetian painting. According to a New Yorker art critic, these "five undisputed immortals of Venetian painting" are Tintoretto, Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, and Veronese - painters whose lives spanned the Italian High Renaissance and whose works helped redefine painting in the Western world. In addition to the Renaissance linear perspective and more humanistic approach to their subjects, Venetian painters are renowned for their emphasis of color over line. Below are brief descriptions of these each painter's individual style**, an example of their work, and, for Titian and Tintoretto, links to several informative posts.
*Leonardo da Vinci is credited with the invention of chiaroscuro. He discovered that he could portray depth through slow gradations of light and shadow.
**A primary source for these brief descriptions was The Art Story web page for each painter. If you'd like to know more, follow these links: Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese.
Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516)
Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516)
- Known for bringing a humanistic quality to his depiction of religious and mythical scenes
- Known for bringing a humanistic quality to his depiction of religious and mythical scenes
- A painter of natural light and of landscapes with a heightened sense of ambiance. Landscapes were not to become fully accepted as a genre until centuries later
- A painter of natural light and of landscapes with a heightened sense of ambiance. Landscapes were not to become fully accepted as a genre until centuries later
- An early adapter and developer of oil painting, he perfected a technique that allowed for subtle gradations of color
- An early adapter and developer of oil painting, he perfected a technique that allowed for subtle gradations of color
- He came from a family of artists and tutored Giorgione and Titian
- He came from a family of artists and tutored Giorgione and Titian
The Agony in the Garden (c.1459), Giovanni Bellini
The Agony in the Garden (c.1459), Giovanni Bellini
Giorgione (1577-1610)
Giorgione (1577-1610)
- His works are known for their elusive, poetic quality. Dying in his early thirties, there is no surviving documentation of his thoughts on the paintings.
- His works are known for their elusive, poetic quality. Dying in his early thirties, there is no surviving documentation of his thoughts on the paintings.
- Painting exclusively in oils, he is remembered for his portraits and landscapes. Giorgione approached portraiture with a more humanistic outlook that encouraged the spectator to consider something of the personality of his subject.
- Painting exclusively in oils, he is remembered for his portraits and landscapes. Giorgione approached portraiture with a more humanistic outlook that encouraged the spectator to consider something of the personality of his subject.
- He was instrumental in effecting a shift towards a new appreciation for the ancient world, esoteric mythology and the natural world.
- He was instrumental in effecting a shift towards a new appreciation for the ancient world, esoteric mythology and the natural world.
- A pivotal figure in the movement within Renaissance art towards a style that promoted the sensuous blending of luminous color
- A pivotal figure in the movement within Renaissance art towards a style that promoted the sensuous blending of luminous color
The Tempest (1504-1508), Giorgione
The Tempest (1504-1508), Giorgione
Portrait of a Young Man (1503-04)
Portrait of a Young Man (1503-04)
Titian (1490-1576)
Titian (1490-1576)
- Known for his brilliant use of color, Titian sought out rare pigments and used them in their richest, most saturated form, which he then carefully balanced to give a harmonious overall effect.
- Known for his brilliant use of color, Titian sought out rare pigments and used them in their richest, most saturated form, which he then carefully balanced to give a harmonious overall effect.
- He also concentrated on the effect of light on color harnessing lighting effects, including chiaroscuro*, to emphasize contrasting hues
- He also concentrated on the effect of light on color harnessing lighting effects, including chiaroscuro*, to emphasize contrasting hues
- Painting in oils he was able to lay down successive layers of glaze and thus portray the appearance and texture of the human form with a unique accuracy, delicacy, and softness.
- Painting in oils he was able to lay down successive layers of glaze and thus portray the appearance and texture of the human form with a unique accuracy, delicacy, and softness.
- Loose brush strokes and expressive application of paint in his later works give them a fluidity and a greater sense of movement and emotion than the paintings of his contemporaries
- Loose brush strokes and expressive application of paint in his later works give them a fluidity and a greater sense of movement and emotion than the paintings of his contemporaries
- Considered by many to be the most important of the Venetian school, he had a huge impact on his contemporaries and his canvases can be seen as forerunners of the emotional drama of Baroque art.
- Considered by many to be the most important of the Venetian school, he had a huge impact on his contemporaries and his canvases can be seen as forerunners of the emotional drama of Baroque art.
Titian painted "Assumption of the Virgin" during the period of 1515 - 1518, completing one of the world's greatest paintings at the age of 27 or 28. When it was unveiled in May 1518, it instantly established the young artist as the pre-eminent figure of High Renaissance art in Venice.
Titian painted "Assumption of the Virgin" during the period of 1515 - 1518, completing one of the world's greatest paintings at the age of 27 or 28. When it was unveiled in May 1518, it instantly established the young artist as the pre-eminent figure of High Renaissance art in Venice.
"The Assumption" remains in Venice at the location that it was designed for, the main altar of the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. aka "the Frari church". The work is overwhelming - more than 22 feet tall. Explaining the larger-than-life-size figures to the Franciscans who commissioned the work, he said he wanted the painting to register from a distance in the large church.
"The Assumption" remains in Venice at the location that it was designed for, the main altar of the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. aka "the Frari church". The work is overwhelming - more than 22 feet tall. Explaining the larger-than-life-size figures to the Franciscans who commissioned the work, he said he wanted the painting to register from a distance in the large church.
Titian's trademark use of rich color is evident, and the painting is carefully composed in a tri-partite scheme.
Titian's trademark use of rich color is evident, and the painting is carefully composed in a tri-partite scheme.
Firstly there is the triangular composition, made up of the two red-robed apostles at the foot of the painting and reaching to a peak at the Virgin’s red clothing, which guides the eyes from the floor to the heavenly realm. It also lends the picture a formal stability.
Then there is the more subtle spiral shape that is instigated by and emanates from the Virgin’s blue shawl, bringing a degree of animation to the composition and, again, training the eye on the Virgin.
Most elegantly, and most simply of all, the upper half of the painting forms a perfect circle made by the curved edges of the cloud and the rounded head of the panel, at the very centre of which the Virgin’s head is positioned. (Christopher Jones, medium.com)
To best appreciate it, you should see it in situ. But, if you're not visiting Venice in the near future, below is a link to the next best thing - a video filmed at "the Frari."
To best appreciate it, you should see it in situ. But, if you're not visiting Venice in the near future, below is a link to the next best thing - a video filmed at "the Frari."
Jacopo Tintoretto (1519-1594)
Jacopo Tintoretto (1519-1594)
- Known for bold brushstrokes and his speed in finishing paintings, his nickname was "Il Furioso." The result of all this passion is a vast collection of more than 700 paintings in Venice.
- Known for bold brushstrokes and his speed in finishing paintings, his nickname was "Il Furioso." The result of all this passion is a vast collection of more than 700 paintings in Venice.
- As did other Venetian painters, he made dramatic use of light and color, but his compositions were more complex and less harmonious - full of emotional turmoil, dramatic confrontations and tumultuous activity
- As did other Venetian painters, he made dramatic use of light and color, but his compositions were more complex and less harmonious - full of emotional turmoil, dramatic confrontations and tumultuous activity
- Tintoretto used the human figure in his compositions with the entire figure communicating the emotional elements of the scene to the viewer
- Tintoretto used the human figure in his compositions with the entire figure communicating the emotional elements of the scene to the viewer
- Tintoretto's brushwork had a profound influence on successive generations of painters, from the theatricality of the Baroque to the emotional angst and use of color of 19th-century Romanticism
- Tintoretto's brushwork had a profound influence on successive generations of painters, from the theatricality of the Baroque to the emotional angst and use of color of 19th-century Romanticism
Saint Mark Freeing the Slave (1548), Tintoretto
Saint Mark Freeing the Slave (1548), Tintoretto
Paolo Veronese (1528 - 1588)
Paolo Veronese (1528 - 1588)
- Giorgione, Titian and Tintoretto created a great demand for Venetian painting. Following in their footsteps, the young Veronese quickly received commissions from governing bodies in the Republic, including ceiling paintings for both the Hall of the Council of Ten and Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale), and, shortly thereafter, for the ceiling for the church of San Sebastiano and further works in the Ducal Palace and the Marciana Library.
- Giorgione, Titian and Tintoretto created a great demand for Venetian painting. Following in their footsteps, the young Veronese quickly received commissions from governing bodies in the Republic, including ceiling paintings for both the Hall of the Council of Ten and Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale), and, shortly thereafter, for the ceiling for the church of San Sebastiano and further works in the Ducal Palace and the Marciana Library.
- His paintings are "grandiose and magnificent visions of the spectacle of sixteenth-century Venetian life and...inextricably linked to the idea of opulence and splendor in Renaissance Venice. The works of Veronese are crowded compositions with theatrical effects, in which groups of sumptuously dressed characters reenact religious and secular events." (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
- His paintings are "grandiose and magnificent visions of the spectacle of sixteenth-century Venetian life and...inextricably linked to the idea of opulence and splendor in Renaissance Venice. The works of Veronese are crowded compositions with theatrical effects, in which groups of sumptuously dressed characters reenact religious and secular events." (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
- Veronese's paintings had the typical richness of color of the Venetian school but, in contrast to Tintoretto he did it with minute, precise brushstrokes.
- Veronese's paintings had the typical richness of color of the Venetian school but, in contrast to Tintoretto he did it with minute, precise brushstrokes.
- He often incorporated whimsical and novel narrative details in paintings, and one of his paintings of The Last Supper - which included a dog, a jester holding a parrot, and a servant with a bleeding nose - aroused the suspicion of the Inquisition.
- He often incorporated whimsical and novel narrative details in paintings, and one of his paintings of The Last Supper - which included a dog, a jester holding a parrot, and a servant with a bleeding nose - aroused the suspicion of the Inquisition.
If you ever stared up at the ornamentally framed paintings in the Palazzo Ducale, you've seen some of Veronese's work. Below is a photograph of the Sala del Collegio, the conference room of the senate, where the most important state visitors were received. The ceiling paintings (right) are by Veronese.
If you ever stared up at the ornamentally framed paintings in the Palazzo Ducale, you've seen some of Veronese's work. Below is a photograph of the Sala del Collegio, the conference room of the senate, where the most important state visitors were received. The ceiling paintings (right) are by Veronese.
Below: Coronation of Esther (1556), Paolo Veronese
Below: Coronation of Esther (1556), Paolo Veronese
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