Doge Leonardo Loredan
Dublin Core
Title
Description
The portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan is one of Giovanni Bellini's most famous paintings, and it is currently in the National Gallery in London, United Kingdom. Doge Leonardo Loredan ruled Venice from 1501 to 1521, and Bellini completed the painting around the time of his inauguration. This painting is also one of Bellini's most admired paintings and one of the best-preserved out of all of his known artworks [3].
Doge Leonardo Loredan was a contentious chief magistrate, but he was also very dominant towards his people. Bellini wanted to capture that mentality in this portrait, and he painted Loredan as a very powerful, meaningful doge. Loredan is dressed in a corno ducale, the official hat, worn over a linen cap, and his formal silk robe with baroque buttons. This painting was inspired both by the Netherlandish Renaissance and the noble portrait busts of Ancient Rome. [1] It expresses the extravagant and aristocratic nature of Venetian artwork. Behind Loredan is a blue background, which contains ultramarine, ultimately showing the direct subject as Loredan. Ultramarine is one of the most costly blue pigments with white mixed in it. [4]
This painting appears to be life-like, showing Loredan's wrinkles and his exact facial structure, which viewers might not always get to see up close in artworks. His pale blue eyes express his intelligence because of the intensity of his gaze. He is looking to the right, but the left eye faces the audience more than the right eye. His nose is well defined, casting a shadow on the left side of his nose. He has an earnest face, which extends the sort of gravitas seen in Roman Emperors. [1] It is almost as if he is about to break his pose, going into a one-sided smile or a smirk. He appears to be well lit, having light cover the majority of his face. His face's left side has some shade because of the light angle coming from the right side. Bellini pays much attention to what Loredan was wearing. The silk robe has a beautiful design to it that shows his royalty and wealth. The silk robe and the corno ducale correspond with the white, blue, and green patterns. The corno ducale also appears to have a gold headband that wraps around the official hat. Bellini painted the gold buttons with such devotion, making the silk robe more valuable. Bellini portrays him with a fair amount of life still in him, and the angle of sunlight Bellini uses hints the time of day to be late afternoon or early evening.
Across the bottom of the painting, a brown table like structure has a signature in the middle of it. The words represented at the bottom of the portrait are "Ioannes Bellinvs." When zoomed in, the signature has three folds that show four squares. There is some damage to the signature and some differentiation on some of the letters. The signature casts a shadow on the white cartellino with the black letters with even space between each letter. [2] It looks like Bellini added it at the last minute, and his imprint on the table is called a false modesty, which is how Bellini showed his skill at painting a range of materials, reinforcing their different textures by painting the one on top of the other [4].
[1] “Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan (1502).” Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan, Giovanni Bellini: Analysis, 2020. http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/doge-leonardo-loredan.htm.
[2] Pincus, Debra. "Giovanni Bellini's Humanist Signature: Pietro Bembo, Aldus Manutius and Humanism in Early Sixteenth-Century Venice." Artibus Et Historiae 29, no. 58 (2008): Page 93. Accessed October 5, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40343651.
[3] “The Sainsbury Wing at London’s National Gallery.” 1995. Cortlandt Forum 8 (5): 176. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9508290503&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
[4] “Giovanni Bellini: Doge Leonardo Loredan: NG189: National Gallery, London.” The National Gallery, 2016. https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/giovanni-bellini-doge-leonardo-loredan.
Doge Leonardo Loredan was a contentious chief magistrate, but he was also very dominant towards his people. Bellini wanted to capture that mentality in this portrait, and he painted Loredan as a very powerful, meaningful doge. Loredan is dressed in a corno ducale, the official hat, worn over a linen cap, and his formal silk robe with baroque buttons. This painting was inspired both by the Netherlandish Renaissance and the noble portrait busts of Ancient Rome. [1] It expresses the extravagant and aristocratic nature of Venetian artwork. Behind Loredan is a blue background, which contains ultramarine, ultimately showing the direct subject as Loredan. Ultramarine is one of the most costly blue pigments with white mixed in it. [4]
This painting appears to be life-like, showing Loredan's wrinkles and his exact facial structure, which viewers might not always get to see up close in artworks. His pale blue eyes express his intelligence because of the intensity of his gaze. He is looking to the right, but the left eye faces the audience more than the right eye. His nose is well defined, casting a shadow on the left side of his nose. He has an earnest face, which extends the sort of gravitas seen in Roman Emperors. [1] It is almost as if he is about to break his pose, going into a one-sided smile or a smirk. He appears to be well lit, having light cover the majority of his face. His face's left side has some shade because of the light angle coming from the right side. Bellini pays much attention to what Loredan was wearing. The silk robe has a beautiful design to it that shows his royalty and wealth. The silk robe and the corno ducale correspond with the white, blue, and green patterns. The corno ducale also appears to have a gold headband that wraps around the official hat. Bellini painted the gold buttons with such devotion, making the silk robe more valuable. Bellini portrays him with a fair amount of life still in him, and the angle of sunlight Bellini uses hints the time of day to be late afternoon or early evening.
Across the bottom of the painting, a brown table like structure has a signature in the middle of it. The words represented at the bottom of the portrait are "Ioannes Bellinvs." When zoomed in, the signature has three folds that show four squares. There is some damage to the signature and some differentiation on some of the letters. The signature casts a shadow on the white cartellino with the black letters with even space between each letter. [2] It looks like Bellini added it at the last minute, and his imprint on the table is called a false modesty, which is how Bellini showed his skill at painting a range of materials, reinforcing their different textures by painting the one on top of the other [4].
[1] “Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan (1502).” Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan, Giovanni Bellini: Analysis, 2020. http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/doge-leonardo-loredan.htm.
[2] Pincus, Debra. "Giovanni Bellini's Humanist Signature: Pietro Bembo, Aldus Manutius and Humanism in Early Sixteenth-Century Venice." Artibus Et Historiae 29, no. 58 (2008): Page 93. Accessed October 5, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40343651.
[3] “The Sainsbury Wing at London’s National Gallery.” 1995. Cortlandt Forum 8 (5): 176. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9508290503&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
[4] “Giovanni Bellini: Doge Leonardo Loredan: NG189: National Gallery, London.” The National Gallery, 2016. https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/giovanni-bellini-doge-leonardo-loredan.
Creator
Giovanni Bellini
Source
Image Source: Giovanni Bellini, active about 1459; died 1516. 1501-2. Doge Leonardo Loredan. Place: The National Gallery, London, Bought, 1844. https://library.artstor.org/asset/ANGLIG_10313768375.
“Giovanni Bellini: Doge Leonardo Loredan: NG189: National Gallery, London.” The National Gallery, 2016. https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/giovanni-bellini-doge-leonardo-loredan.
Heath, Elizabeth. "Octavia Hill: The Reluctant Sitter." In Octavia Hill, Social Activism and the Remaking of British Society, edited by Baigent Elizabeth and Cowell Ben, 119-38. London: University of London Press, 2016. Accessed October 7, 2020. doi:10.2307/j.ctv4w3whm.13.
“Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan (1502).” Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan, Giovanni Bellini: Analysis, 2020. http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/doge-leonardo-loredan.htm.
Pincus, Debra. "Giovanni Bellini's Humanist Signature: Pietro Bembo, Aldus Manutius and Humanism in Early Sixteenth-Century Venice." Artibus Et Historiae 29, no. 58 (2008): 89-119. Accessed October 5, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40343651.
“Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan.” Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan by Giovanni Bellini, 2020. http://www.giovannibellini.org/portrait-of-doge-leonardo-loredan/.
“The Sainsbury Wing at London’s National Gallery.” 1995. Cortlandt Forum 8 (5): 176. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9508290503&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
“Giovanni Bellini: Doge Leonardo Loredan: NG189: National Gallery, London.” The National Gallery, 2016. https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/giovanni-bellini-doge-leonardo-loredan.
Heath, Elizabeth. "Octavia Hill: The Reluctant Sitter." In Octavia Hill, Social Activism and the Remaking of British Society, edited by Baigent Elizabeth and Cowell Ben, 119-38. London: University of London Press, 2016. Accessed October 7, 2020. doi:10.2307/j.ctv4w3whm.13.
“Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan (1502).” Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan, Giovanni Bellini: Analysis, 2020. http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/doge-leonardo-loredan.htm.
Pincus, Debra. "Giovanni Bellini's Humanist Signature: Pietro Bembo, Aldus Manutius and Humanism in Early Sixteenth-Century Venice." Artibus Et Historiae 29, no. 58 (2008): 89-119. Accessed October 5, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40343651.
“Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan.” Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan by Giovanni Bellini, 2020. http://www.giovannibellini.org/portrait-of-doge-leonardo-loredan/.
“The Sainsbury Wing at London’s National Gallery.” 1995. Cortlandt Forum 8 (5): 176. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9508290503&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Publisher
The National Gallery of UK
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/giovanni-bellini-doge-leonardo-loredan
Date
1501-1502
Contributor
Seamus Harding
Rights
Photograph: ©The National Gallery, London Giovanni Bellini, active about 1459; died 1516. 1501-2. Doge Leonardo Loredan. Place: The National Gallery, London, Bought, 1844. https://library.artstor.org/asset/ANGLIG_10313768375.
This image is licensed for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons agreement by the National Gallery of UK.
This image is licensed for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons agreement by the National Gallery of UK.
Format
Oil on poplar; 61.6 x 45.1 cm
Type
Painting
Coverage
The National Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Citation
Giovanni Bellini, “Doge Leonardo Loredan,” ARTHIST 89S - Visual Culture of Venice - Fall 2020, accessed October 22, 2026, https://venice.dahvc.org/fall-2020/items/show/95.