Bellini, Gentile, << behl LEE nee, jehn TEE leh >> (1429?-1507), was an important painter in Venice during the Italian Renaissance. Gentile is best known for his paintings that captured the appearance of Venice in his day. He is also remembered for the large, decorative works he did for Venice’s scuole, semireligious associations of pious laymen dedicated to charitable works. Gentile painted religious processions through the streets of Venice and episodes from the lives of early Christian saints. He focused on urban settings of the time, and these paintings serve as valuable portrayals of life in a city during the late 1400’s.
In 1479, Gentile was sent to Constantinople (now Istanbul) to paint the portrait of Sultan Mehmet II. This portrait, as well as other works from this visit, show how Gentile adapted his Italian Renaissance style to the Islamic painting tradition of using broad, flat areas of pattern and color.
