The Byzantine influence
From the 6th century to the year 1000, the Byzantine Empire extended as far as Italy. During this period, Venice maintained close relations with Byzantium. The mosaics in Ravenna's Basilica of St. Vitus are a prime example of the city's oriental heritage. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this building is one of the most representative examples of Byzantine art in Europe. On these mosaics, the gold background and simplification of forms characterize the Byzantine influence. The Byzantines also passed on the glass-making technique that has made the island of Murano famous the world over.
The evolution of Venetian art is also reflected in its painting. According to some historians, the Greek mosaicists called upon to decorate St. Mark's Basilica were the first painters in Venice, as early as the 11th century. The break with Byzantine art was felt in the integration of Gothic themes. In the 14th century, Paolo Veneziano played a decisive role in this so-called primitive period. The only official painter of the century, he gradually freed himself from the rules of icons and miniatures. His works in Venice include The Virgin and Child with Two Donors (Gallerie dell'Accademia) and The Virgin and Child (Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari).
From the scuole to the Venetian school
Scuole were charitable brotherhoods that first appeared in the 13th century. Some were similar to guilds. However, the aura of the wealthiest scuole grandi was not only due to their social role. These institutions, which increasingly called on artists to build or embellish their premises and thus assert their prestige, strongly stimulated artistic creation.
The Venetian school flourished from the 14th to the 17th century, bringing together painters from the surrounding area and from ancient Venetian families. It produced a unique style, the most recognizable of all Italian schools, combining Gothic and Byzantine teachings with local particularities. The themes developed in painting were widely discussed among scholars of the time. Pictorially, large-scale gold flat tints tended to disappear, as did tempera or water-based painting. Oil paint allowed for greater effect and precision: it served a more realistic drawing, the fruit of accurate observation of the model. The subject is then set against a backdrop constructed with respect for perspective.
The Venetian Golden Age
Of the great Venetian Renaissance, let's focus on Giorgione and Titian. Both masters followed in the footsteps of the early Renaissance, but made different contributions to the Venetian style. While Titian was the most admired of his time, Giorgione was the first to venture outside religious themes. He left splendid paintings whose interpretation is still a mystery to this day, such as The Tempest (1505, Galerie de l'Académie). For his part, the charismatic Titian succeeded in distancing himself from his predecessors while being appointed official painter of the Republic of Venice. For the artists, the use of oil paint enabled them to multiply their effects and impose new rules that enhanced their prestige.
The great Venetian painters
The Bellini family (works on display at theAccademia and the Correr Museum). The father, Jacopo (1400-1470), was crucial in many ways. It could be said that the Renaissance arrived in Venice through his workshop. As the first painter to break away from the Gothic style, he rethought the notion of perspective and spatial composition. His son Gentile (1429-1509), influenced by Mantegna, was the first to depict the daily life of his city in large-scale paintings. He was thus the precursor of a picturesque genre that enjoyed immense success until the 18th century. His brother Giambellino (1430-1516) is considered the true founder of the Venetian school. He combined his father's contributions with Flemish techniques and Florentine forms. He left a varied body of work, although he is best known for his Madonnas in Venetian churches. His imagination and sensitivity never cease to amaze. During his lifetime, artists such as Dürer flocked to work alongside him.
Carpaccio (1460-1525), a pupil of Gentille Bellini, is renowned for his sweeping depictions of Venetian life. No other artist has so brilliantly detailed the canals, gondolas, bridges and people of 1500.
Giorgione (c. 1447-1510) was a disciple of Giovanni Bellini. His importance in the history of art lies in his esoteric themes, the richness of his palette, the use of color as a source of emotion, and the effects of light and chiaroscuro.
Titian (c. 1488-1576), another pupil of Giovanni Bellini, had a long and full life, during which he explored all genres: frescoes(Story of St. Anthony, Scuola del Santo in Padua), portraits and self-portraits, mythological and religious scenes. In demand throughout Europe, he painted portraits of the crowned heads of his day. Titian's style, though multifaceted, is characterized by its light, its rendering of movement and its power. The inventor of the halo effect, he favored color over form. Titian's art had a considerable impact on the development of painting in the centuries that followed.
Tintoretto (1518-1594) lived and worked exclusively in Venice. A man of the people, with a fiery temperament, he took Michelangelo as his guide. This instinctive, lyrical artist abandoned Antiquity in favor of biblical subjects. The power of Tintoretto's art, famous for its contrasts, found its most vibrant expression in the theme of supernatural vision, as in The Last Supper (St. George Major, Venice) and The Passion Stories painted for the Scuola di San Rocco. The Gospel episodes represent the most important undertaking of his career, and are intended to demonstrate the possible coincidence of history and vision.
Veronese (1528-1588) was the painter of Venetian splendor. An unrivalled colorist, he succeeded in obtaining a light that stands out against a light background. Even in his biblical subjects, luxury and beauty prevail over religious fervor. Veronese also worked for the theater, and this activity certainly influenced his work. The frescoes at the Villa Barbaro in Maser highlight Veronese's research into the perception of pictorial space in relation to architectural space.
Tiepolo (1696-1770). The greateighteenth-century fresco artist learned from Veronese about the brilliance of color and the magnificence of composition. A master of trompe-l'œil, he truly modeled space and excelled in the treatment of ceilings. He remains one of the finest interpreters of the joie de vivre that made Venice the most cheerful city in Europe.
Sculpture in Venice
Sculpture, whether monumental or decorative, is an integral part of Venice's charm. A stroll along the streets of the floating city quickly turns into a symbolic gathering of stone plants on palace facades. Don't miss Andrea del Verrochio's equestrian statue of the Colleone, a form that evokes military art, or the Atlanteans of Benoni's Sea Customs. From the 15th century, the art of sculpture made its mark in Venice with works by Matteo Raverti and Marco Cozzi.
The Lombard Benedetto Antelami influenced the sculptors of Saint Mark's, while the activity of the Campionesi masters in Verona and the Tuscan masters in Padua and Venice contributed to the formation of a Venetian school whose principal representatives are the dalle Masegne brothers.
Donatello (1386-1466) revolutionized pre-Renaissance art, creating highly expressive sculptures that were close to the public. Based in Florence, he received commissions from numerous cities: in Venice, he created the statue of St. John the Baptist in 1438. Also commissioned by the city of Venice, his main Paduan work is an equestrian statue,Erasmo da Narni, known as the Gattamelata, the first monumental work of the period.
Pietro Lombardo (1435-1515) and his sons. Pietro Lombardo was the leader of Venetian sculpture in the late 15th century. An architect and sculptor, he developed funerary sculpture in collaboration with his sons, Antonio and Tulio. His works include the tomb of Doge Pietro Mocenigo and the church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli with its multicolored façade.
Antonio Canova (1757-1822). The young Canova was trained by his father, a stonemason, before becoming an apprentice in several workshops in Bassano and Venice. Here, he acquired a dazzling technique that was already evident in his early works. Graceful composition and purity of form offset the overly explicit references to antiquity and coldness of his work. Acclaimed throughout Europe, the sculptor traveled extensively to meet the demands of various courts.
Art in Venice today
What delights every visitor is that art is an integral part of Venice, both inside and outside its cultural venues. However, the city is not resting on its laurels. Since 1893, the Biennale has celebrated the latest in all the major arts. In 2011, it saluted the work of photographer Luigi Ghirri, who set out to dissect an Italy invaded by consumer culture. For art lovers, the Ikona Photo Gallery specializes in photographic art.
Several renowned collectors have chosen Venice as their home. In 1949, American art patron and gallery owner Peggy Guggenheim purchased the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on the Grand Canal. This pleasant, human-scale museum, with its garden, houses masterpieces of contemporary art by Picasso, Mondrian, Chagall, Pollock, Dali, Kandinsky and Magritte.
The Pinault Collection is housed in two exceptional sites restored by architect Tadao Ando: Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana. To accompany temporary exhibitions, artists are invited to create works in situ.
More recently, the annual Venezia Photo festival has been held on the island of San Servolo. Events for the general public are held alongside workshops led by leading photographers. The festival aims to become a laboratory for photographic creation.
Last but not least, Venice's first permanent art district has recently come into being: the Giudecca Art District. This little-touristed island is home to some of Venice's most interesting galleries. The art district links existing venues with eleven new cultural spaces that integrate the contemporary scene with Venice's rich history.
