Carpaccio, Bellini und die Frührenaissance in Venedig

Vittore Carpaccio (c. 1460/65-1525/26) was one of the most important painters of the early Renaissance in Venice. He staged his colorful and detailed pictorial narratives against the picturesque backdrop of the lagoon city or the landscapes of the Middle East. His works are populated by vividly characterized figures. Around 1500, he was one of the busiest painters in Venice and competed with today's far more famous masters such as Giovanni Bellini (around 1435-1516). So how did Carpaccio manage to maintain his unique position as a chronicler of Venetian life?

Based on this question, the Staatsgalerie is dedicating an exhibition to Carpaccio for the first time in Germany and juxtaposing some of his most important paintings with selected works by Giovanni Bellini. The presentation is complemented by works by other artists active in Venice between 1465 and 1525, including Gentile Bellini and Lorenzo Lotto.

Two major works by Carpaccio are in the possession of the Staatsgalerie and will be restored and examined in the run-up to the exhibition: The monumental altarpiece with the "Disputation of St. Thomas Aquinas with Saints Mark and Louis of Toulouse" (1507) shows how Carpaccio took up pictorial inventions from the Bellini workshop and experimented with new, narratively appealing compositions. On the other hand, the "Martyrdom of St. Stephen" (1520) from the cycle for the Brotherhood of St. Stephen in Venice illustrates the fascination that Carpaccio and his contemporaries had for the cultures of the eastern Mediterranean.

With around 50 paintings and works on paper, including outstanding loans from Venice, Florence, Madrid and Washington, the exhibition demonstrates how Carpaccio's highly original painting style positioned him as one of the most successful artists of the early Renaissance in Venice.