Doge Leonardo Loredan

The high, pointed cap and gleaming robe identify an office as much as a person. Leonardo Loredan was the doge, the elected ruler of the Venetian Republic. He took office in 1501 and remained doge until his death in 1521. Giovanni Bellini painted him shortly after his election. The ceremonial white silk contains gold and silver thread, reserved for splendid public occasions. Against the plain blue background, the patterned fabric and pale face command attention without a crowded setting. The stone ledge and the way the body ends above the arms recall a sculpted portrait bust. Such images linked Renaissance rulers with the emperors of ancient Rome. Bellini uses paint to give the format something marble cannot easily provide. Look around Loredan’s mouth and eyes. The small shifts of colour soften the outlines and leave his expression difficult to settle. He does not return our gaze. His distant look belongs to a public ruler, while the creases of his skin give us an individual face to study.