Venetian Altarpieces 1460-1505 Literature review

Venetian Altarpieces 1460-1505 - Literature review Example The altarpieces were often funded by the affluent Venetians, therefore the altarpieces, like the chapels that house them, were often meant as a celebration of the affluence and rank of these families. Seidel (1994) states that such patronage could be a family’s way of regaining prominence after it has returned from exile, or could be a way to celebrate enormous prosperity for the family. Humfrey (1994) states that, for instance, Jacopo Bellini’s altarpiece Annunciation was commissioned by the widow of Gattamelata, Giacomo da Leonessa. De Leonessa was closely associated with Donatello and was a patron of Mantegna. As such, she was at the forefront of the Renaissance art in Northeastern Italy, and she wanted her altarpieces to be as up to date as these other pieces. This meant that Jacopo Bellini would have had specific terms for his commission to construct the Annunciation. Rubin (1994) states that the subject of the painting was not usually left to the artist, but, rather, was decided by the patrons before the artist even begun working. The subject was decided before the artist was even chosen. The patrons would usually decide what it was that they were trying to convey, and calculated their needs and budget for the work accordingly. The patrons then set out to find a master to carry out their designs. The wills, bequests, and donations for these altarpieces usually stipulated that the paintings be carried out by a famous or skilled master. The painter could, however, embellish the painting as he saw as being necessary – for instance, the painter, such as Perugino, would add angels, ornaments and extra heads. However, these artists were not invented, so much as they were ornamenting or filling in the blanks for the patrons. It was all very workmanlike, according to Muraro (1994), in that the artist or the artist’s house would sign a detai led contract that would dictate which patron saints would be depicted, the time that would be allotted for the painting to be completed, the day for delivery of the painting, the information about arbitration in cases of dispute, and the forms of payment.