Bellini, Giovanni, << behl LEE nee, joh VAHN nee >> (1430 or 1435-1516), was the greatest member of the Bellini family of painters in Venice during the Italian Renaissance. His most important contribution to art lay in his experimentation with the use of color and atmosphere in oil painting. His poetic landscapes influenced Giorgione, Titian, and other Venetian painters of the 1500’s. Giovanni Bellini also helped further the development of a type of painting called sacra conversazione (holy conversation), which features the Madonna and Child in an interior or landscape setting with two or more saints.
Bellini’s early works reflect clear, crisply defined forms. By the 1470’s and 1480’s, he began to use warmer colors, softer forms, and more atmosphere. Through the use of clear, slow-drying oil paints, Bellini created deep, rich colors and detailed shading. Bellini’s interest in landscapes is in keeping with the Venetian fascination with the natural world. One of his finest works of this type is Saint Francis in the Desert (about 1480). Bellini died on Nov. 29, 1516.
