Giovani Bellini, Pesaro Altarpiece
1471-74Paintings sorted by Historical period | Painter | Subject matter | Pigments used
Overview
Medium: Oil
Support: Wood
Size: 500 x 340 cm
Art period: Early Renaissance
Musei Civici di Pesaro, Italy
Bellini’s ‘Pesaro Altarpiece’ was painted for the church of St John the Baptist in Pesaro and consists of the main panel ‘Coronation of the Virgin with Saints Paul, Peter, Jerome and Francis and a multitude of smaller paintings placed on the left and right sides of the central panel and on the predella (lower part of the platform on which an altar is placed).
The extensive investigation and pigment analysis employing non-destructive imaging and spectroscopical methods made it possible to identify a very extensive and rich palette of pigments. Except for the more frequently used vermilion, ultramarine, lead white, and verdigris, Bellini utilized also indigo, orpiment, and realgar.
Pigments
Pigment Analysis
This pigment analysis is based on the work of scientists at the University of Bergamo, Italy (1). The scientists employed a whole array of methods to identify the pigments and learn about Bellini’s painting technique. The methods used were IR-reflectography (IRR), false colour infrared imaging technique, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy in the visible range of wavelengths.
1 Virgin’s blue drapery: natural ultramarine painted over a layer of azurite.
2 Saint Paul’s dark green drapery: a mixture of azurite and yellow lake.
3 Saint Paul’s orange-red drapery: carmine kermes lake, vermilion, and lead white.
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4 Saint Peter’s brown-yellow cloak: brown ochre and realgar with highlights in lead-tin yellow.
5 Green central square on the floor: indigo mixed with lead-tin yellow.
6 Green landscape in the painting behind the throne: verdigris.
7 Flesh paint in the face of Saint Francis: lead white,orpiment, and traces of vermilion and yellow ochre.
8 Blue sky: natural ultramarine mixed with lead white and painted over small amounts of azurite.
References
(1) Gianluca Poldi and Giovanni Carlo Federico Villa, A new examination of Giovanni Bellini’s ‘Pesaro Altarpiece’: recent findings and comparisons with other works by Bellini, in Studying Old Master Paintings: Technology and Practice. The National Gallery Technical Bulletin 30th Anniversary Conference, Postprints of the Conference (London, 16-18 September 2009), edited by M. Spring, London 2011, pp. 28-36.
Pigments Used in This Painting
Resources
Videos
Video: 'Giovanni Bellini: A pioneering Venetian artist' by National Gallery
Video: 'Giovanni Bellini: A collection of 137 paintings (HD)' by LearnFromMasters
Publications and Websites
Publications
(1) Gianluca Poldi and Giovanni Carlo Federico Villa, A new examination of Giovanni Bellini’s ‘Pesaro Altarpiece’: recent findings and comparisons with other works by Bellini, in Studying Old Master Paintings: Technology and Practice. The National Gallery Technical Bulletin 30th Anniversary Conference, Postprints of the Conference (London, 16-18 September 2009), edited by M. Spring, London 2011, pp. 28-36.
(2) Carolyn Wilson, Bellini’s Pesaro altarpiece: a study in context and meaning, Ph.D. Thesis, New York University, 1977.