Masterpieces of the Accademia

One of Bill and my goals on this visit to Venice was to have a good long look at Venetian painting. No better place to start than the Accademia Gallery.

 One floor was closed for renovation but we still had riches galore -- starting in this room of Early Renaissance (14th to 15th century) works.

 Interestingly the metal, wood and canvas supports for these paintings were designed in the 1950s by the famous Venetian-born architect Carlo Scarpa.

Lorenzo Veneziano, Polittico Lion con l'Annunciazione 14th century.

Two works by Michele di Matteo, 15th century

Jacobello Alberegno, Polittico dell'Apocalisse, 14th century

I love the expressions on these faces: Michele Giambono, San Giacomo Maggiore (detail), 15th century

Veneziano Sposalizio, Marriage of St. Catharine, 14th century 

Catarino, Coronation with Virgin and Angels (detail), 14th century.

 Bill and I were thrilled to see these paintings by Giacomo Bellini. We had no idea they would be so enormous. San Giobbe Altarpiece, c. 1480.

Giovanni Bellini, Madonna Enthroned with Child and Saints, 1516

Our portrait of this Bellini painting didn't turn out but we are pleased we can show you this detail of the Madonna's face as she contemplates the fate of her child. We think this might be the most heartbreaking of all Bellini's superb portraits

 This Titian Presentation of the Virgin, 1534-38, was painted on this wall before the building became an art gallery, when it was still a confraternity (Scuola Grande).

A lovely Veronese Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine, c.1575.

Veronese, Saint Jerome in the Desert, 1566.

This trip has made us "get" Tintoretto, in a way we never had before. More on that in future posts. Saint Luigi, Saint Giorgio and the Princess, c. 1553.

Tintoretto, Creation of the Animals, 1530-1533.

 Let's have a closer look at those "animals". Nice.

 We're also seeing amazing paintings -- room after room of them -- by Carpaccio.

Carpaccio's paintings are crammed with fascinating details and Miracle of the Relic of the Holy Cross, 1494, is no exception. For instance you can see in the background an image of the Rialto bridge when it was still made of wood

and at the bottom right a little dog of a breed that you still see in Venice today.