VITTORE DI MATTEO BELLINIANO (ACTIVE VENICE 1507-AFTER 1529)

Born Vittore di Matteo, the artist assumed the name Belliniano after 1516 in honour of his master, Giovanni Bellini, and, like most Venetian painters of this moment, fell under the spell of Giorgione. Dated 1521, this canvas is one of few surviving portraits by the artist and can be compared with the Portrait of a Man (Bergamo, Accademia Carrara). There are numerous similar heads in the large canvas of the Martyrdom of St Mark for the Scuola di San Marco, Venice (Venice, Accademia, on deposit at the Ospedale Civile), commissioned from Bellini in 1515 shortly before his death and signed by Vittore in 1526. Comparison of this with Vittore's other signed works suggests that while Bellini probably designed the work, the execution must be mainly that of Vittore. Although his style closely followed that of his master, Vittore was also responsive to the romantic tonalism and soft mysterious lighting of Giorgione’s work, as is evident in the present portrait. A number of works have been recently identified as by Belliniano, including The Concert in the Royal Collection, a work previously attributed to Giorgione, and the renowned double portrait in the Louvre (inv. no. 101), variously given to Giovanni and Gentile Bellini and Giovanni Cariani.