Giovanni Bellini's Half-Length Madonnas Analysis
While the religious icon had been a popular type of painting since the medieval period, a new style of icon emerged during the fifteenth century; this new icon was a type of hybrid. This new hybrid icon was a mixture of Western European and Eastern Greek and Byzantine styles while still maintaining its spiritual value. Not only did the west effect the east though, but byzantine styles had a great effect on the art of Venice; specifically in the work of Giovanni Bellini. As a trading city and as an empire, Venice had a lot of connections to the East; one such connection was its control of the island of Crete. This, and other connections, facilitated not only the trade of goods but also the trade of ideas and techniques. Artistic ideas and
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Rona Goffen’s “Icon and Vision: Giovanni Bellini’s Half-Length Madonnas” shows how Bellini, and most noticeably his Madonnas, represent the ways that Eastern, Byzantine and Greek, styles effected the western Italian style. Goffen explains the long history of connection with Byzantium which made eastern art not unusual, but a popular style. Bellini used the popular motifs of this style to incorporate into his work; such motifs included Greek letters, a solemn Mary, and his use of half-length which all directly quoted Byzantine and Greek models. These details revealed the Madonnas to be icon paintings and for use in religious worship, not just for aesthetic pleasure, particularly his use of the half-length. This half-length style has a long and ancient history of referencing icons and other figures that were meant to be eternal, just as an icon is the vehicle for an eternal religious presence. This half-length style was not as popular as the full length and enthroned Mary in Venice, a style that Bellini also used and Lymberopoulou points to as an influence on Cretan art. Goffen argues that even though Bellini used some different styles and motifs in comparison to the Byzantine style of making icons, which depended on repetition for its authenticity and spirituality, Bellini still
Rona Goffen’s “Icon and Vision: Giovanni Bellini’s Half-Length Madonnas” shows how Bellini, and most noticeably his Madonnas, represent the ways that Eastern, Byzantine and Greek, styles effected the western Italian style. Goffen explains the long history of connection with Byzantium which made eastern art not unusual, but a popular style. Bellini used the popular motifs of this style to incorporate into his work; such motifs included Greek letters, a solemn Mary, and his use of half-length which all directly quoted Byzantine and Greek models. These details revealed the Madonnas to be icon paintings and for use in religious worship, not just for aesthetic pleasure, particularly his use of the half-length. This half-length style has a long and ancient history of referencing icons and other figures that were meant to be eternal, just as an icon is the vehicle for an eternal religious presence. This half-length style was not as popular as the full length and enthroned Mary in Venice, a style that Bellini also used and Lymberopoulou points to as an influence on Cretan art. Goffen argues that even though Bellini used some different styles and motifs in comparison to the Byzantine style of making icons, which depended on repetition for its authenticity and spirituality, Bellini still