102 Benedict, rule of Saint
were among the most distinguished Venetian painters of
the early Renaissance. Likely trained under Jacopo, the
brothers were practicing as independent masters by the
1460s but continued to assist their father on various pro-
jects in a shared workshop. In 1453, Nicolosia Bellini,
Jacopo’s daughter, married the Paduan artist Andrea
MANTEGNA.
JACOPOHe was the son of a Venetian pewter maker, Nicoletto
Bellini, and his wife, Franceschina, and became a pupil of
GENTILE da Fabriano, had been active in Venice from
1408 to 1413. Jacopo was probably an apprentice of
Gentile between 1414 and 1419 in Brescia. His early
work included a Crucifixion fresco for the Cathedral
of VERONAin 1436 and a portrait of Leonello D’ESTEof
FERRARA. By this portrait Jacopo overcame in a contest of
skill the famous contemporary Veronese artist Antonio
PISANELLO. He also did an altarpiece for the Gattamelata
funerary chapel in 1459/60 in the Basilica of the Saint in
PADUAand two narrative paintings on canvass for major
confraternities in Venice, the Scuola Grande di San Gio-
vanni Evangelista and the Scuola Grande di San Marco in
the 1460s. These paintings suggested that he was among
the premier Venetian painters of his generation. They
reflected his understanding of Gentile da Fabriano’s
experimentation of the effects of light and the ideas about
perspective and classical form of Leon Battista ALBERTI.
He also produced a two-volume set of 300 metal point
drawings, highly prized in the period and inspiring stylis-
tically to his sons.
GENTILEGentile worked with his father, Jacopo, and his brother
Giovanni at the Scuola di San Marco in Venice. His skill
earned him a knighthood as a count palatin conferred by
the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick III (r. 1440–93),
while he was visiting Venice in 1469. In 1474 he received
the prestigious commission from the city of Venice for
the redecoration of the Chamber of the Great Council in
the Doge’s Palace, later lost in a fire. In 1479 he was sent
by the city to the court of MEHMEDII, for whom he
painted a distinguished portrait. When he returned to
Venice he painted the images for which he was best
remembered, those depicting detailed scenes of religious
PROCESSIONSand pageants in the city of Venice.
GIOVANNIGiovanni Bellini was among the great innovative
painters of the 15th century and one of the greatest of
all Venetian painters. First recorded in a document
of 1459, he changed painting in Venice through
his embrace of the oil technique, thus enabling the
accomplishments of Giorgione (ca. 1476/78–1510),
Titian (ca. 1487/90–1576), and other Venetian artists in
the next century. He changed brushstrokes, color, and
compositional meaning. Much influenced by his
brother-in-law Mantegna, he was highly creative in his
use of light and atmosphere. He demonstrated an acute
observation of the natural world in numerous paintings.
Giovanni portrayed landscape and changing atmo-
spheric effects with a strong feeling of immediacy. He
created several varieties of images of the Madonna and
Child and important devotional and didactic altarpieces
for several churches in Venice, including the Frari and
Sant Zaccaria. He worked until his death in 1516 and
was the teacher of Giorgione and Titian.
Further reading:Patricia Fortini Brown, Art and Life
in Renaissance Venice(New York: H. N. Abrams, 1997);
Colin T. Eisler, The Genius of Jacopo Bellini: The Complete
Paintings and Drawings(New York: H. N. Abrams, 1989);
Rona Goffen, Piety and Patronage in Renaissance Venice:
Bellini, Titian, and the Franciscans(New Haven, Conn.:
Yale University Press, 1986); Anchise Tempestini, Gio-
vanni Bellini,trans. Alexandra Bonfante-Warren and Jay
Hyams (New York: Abbeville Press, 1999); Carolyn Cen-
tury Wilson, “Bellini Family,” Encyclopedia of the Renais-
sance, 6 vols, ed. Paul Grendler (New York: Charles
Scribner’s 1999), 1.198–201.Benedict, rule of Saint See BENEDICT OF NURSIA,
SAINT.Benedictine order In the pontificate of Pope Pelagius
II (r. 579–590), after the completed destructive sack of
MONTE CASSINO by the LOMBARDS in about 580, its
monks of Saint BENEDICTmoved to ROME, taking along
their Rule. This rule was quickly adopted by other local
monasteries, including one founded by the later Pope
GREGORYI the Great. After Gregory became pope in 590,
the growing number of monasteries governed by this
Rule began to call themselves Benedictine, the beginning
of the Benedictine Order. During Gregory’s reign it spread
to Gaul and Britain. Gregory fostered it and used its
monks for missionary work, such as that by Saint AUGUS-
TINEof Canterbury. The Benedictines came to play a fun-
damental role in shaping the culture of western Europe.
Their abbeys created centers of settlement and culture
throughout Europe. Their obligations to study, demanded
by the Rule, gave rise to the establishment of their
SCHOOLSand LIBRARIESthat were centers of scholarship in
Europe until the 12th century. Their need for books and
copying of manuscripts kept alive much of the culture of
the ancient world and early Christianity that we have
today. They had many reform movements during the
course of the Middle Ages.
See alsoCISTERCIAN ORDER;CLUNY,CLUNIACS; NUNS
AND NUNNERIES; SCRIPTORIUM.
Further reading:Giles Constable, Medieval Monasti-
cism: A Select Bibliography (Toronto: University of
Toronto Press, 1976); Jo Ann McNamara, Sisters in Arms: