Bellano, Bartolommeo (c. 1440–96/97) Italian sculptor
Born at Padua, the son of a goldsmith, Bellano is first doc-
umented in 1456 as an assistant to DONATELLOin Flo-
rence. By 1463 he was probably assisting Donatello with
the bronze reliefs for the pulpits of San Lorenzo as his
style is discernible in the angular chiseling of several pan-
els. In 1467 he was in Perugia, making a statue of Pope
Paul II, and VASARIclaims that he served the pope in Rome
too; nevertheless, by 1468 Bellano had settled again in
Padua. He executed a marble revetment for the reliquary
chest of St. Anthony of Padua in the sacristy of the basil-
ica (1469–72): the panel of the Miracle of the Mule is char-
acteristic of his angular and linear style of marble carving.
Between 1484 and 1488 he produced his masterpiece, a
cycle of 10 bronze reliefs of Old Testament stories for the
interior of the basilica choir enclosure.
Bellarmine, St. Robert See ROBERT BELLARMINE, ST
Belleau, Rémy (1528–1577) French scholar and poet
Belleau, who was born at Nogent-le-Rotrou, gained first
the patronage of the Abbé de Choiseul and later that of
Charles IX and Henry III. After taking part in the French
campaign against Naples (1557), he settled at Joinville as
tutor and counsellor to the GUISE FAMILY. There he found
inspiration for his popular pastoral in verse and prose, La
Bergerie (1565–72). Described as a “painter of nature” by
RONSARD, his erstwhile associate at the Collège de Co-
queret, Belleau was renowned for detailed descriptions
that won him the reputation of a poetic miniaturist. He
also wrote some didactic verse, a commentary on precious
stones and their virtues, and La Reconnue (1557), an un-
finished comedy in verse, but it was his translation of
Anacreon’s Odes (1556) that won him membership of the
PLÉIADE. He died in Paris.
Bellegambe, Jean (c. 1470–c. 1535) Flemish painter
Probably a native of Douai, then in the Spanish Nether-
lands, Bellegambe was a follower of Simon Marmion (ac-
tive 1449–89) and became the foremost history painter in
Flanders at that time, combining elements of Flemish and
French art in his own work. He may also have been influ-
enced by several other artists of northern Europe, notably
Quentin METSYS. Bellegambe’s works include a polyptych
(c. 1511; Notre Dame, Douai), two altar wings depicting
the glorification of the Virgin (1526; Notre Dame, Douai),
and an Adoration of Infant Christ (1528). Also the designer
of buildings, furniture, frames, and embroidery, Bel-
legambe was idolized in Douai.
Belli, Valerio (c. 1486–1546) Italian gem engraver,
medalist, and goldsmith
Belli was born in Vicenza but spent much of his career in
Rome where he worked for Pope Clement VII and his suc-
cessor Paul III. He produced around 50 medals portraying
idealized figures from antiquity. He was a member of artis-
tic and literary circles which included Michelangelo and
the humanist Pietro Bembo.Bellini, Giovanni (c. 1430–1516) Italian painter
The son of the artist Jacopo BELLINI, Giovanni trained in
his father’s workshop alongside his brother Gentile Bellini
(c. 1429–1507) and was the brother-in-law of MANTEGNA,
whose influence is clear on Giovanni’s early works. He
worked with Gentile on several large narrative cycles and
at an early stage showed his skill as a draftsman in a num-
ber of small devotional pieces, notably in his versions of
the Pietà. Many of these early paintings, such as the Agony
in the Garden (1465; National Gallery, London), use set-
tings of natural landscapes and demonstrate Giovanni’s
masterly handling of light and color. In 1483 he became
state painter to the Venetian republic, a post he retained
until his death. In this capacity he executed paintings in
the doge’s palace (destroyed by fire in 1577) and was com-
missioned for several major portraits, including the Doge
Leonardo Loredan (1501; National Gallery, London).
Important altarpieces by Giovanni include that for the
church of SS. Giovanni e Paolo in Venice, influenced by
ANTONELLO DA MESSINA, from which stemmed the sacre
conversazioni for San Giobbe (c. 1483–85) and San Zac-
caria (1505). His later works include the secular paintings
the Feast of the Gods (c. 1514; National Gallery, Washing-
ton), painted for Alfonso d’Este, and his only known fe-
male nude, the Toilet of Venus (1515; Kunsthistorisches
Museum, Vienna). Other works include many versions of
the Virgin and Child, a Transfiguration (c. 1480; Frick Col-
lege, New York), and the Sacred Allegory (c. 1500; Uffizi,
Florence; see Plate II).
Giovanni established Venice as an artistic center on a
level with Florence and Rome and was the teacher of such
pupils as GIORGIONE, TITIAN, PALMA VECCHIO, and SEBAS-
TIANO DEL PIOMBO. He also exerted considerable influence
over succeeding artistic schools through his development
of the use of pure oil color as opposed to the use of tem-
pera.
Further reading: Rona Goffen, Giovanni Bellini (New
Haven, Con.: Yale University Press, 1989); Peter Humfrey
(ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Giovanni Bellini (Cam-
bridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2003).Bellini, Jacopo (c. 1400–c. 1471) Italian painter
The father of the artists Gentile Bellini (c. 1429–1507) and
Giovanni BELLINIand the father-in-law of Andrea MAN-
TEGNA, Jacopo was born in Venice and was a pupil of GEN-
TILE DE FABRIANO. After visiting Florence and being
exposed to the works of other leading Italian artists, Ja-
copo returned to Venice and by 1429 was established as
the pre-eminent painter there. Very few paintings certainly
by him survive and are all executed in a stiff Venetian
Gothic style; those that are signed include Virgin and Child5500 BBeellllaannoo,, BBaarrttoolloommmmeeoo