A Renaissance Masterpiece

Currently obsessed with this painting of Doge Leonardo Loredan, by Giovanni Bellini. The play of light is extraordinary; look at the clearness of his face, and the soft shadows on the side of his head. But above all look at the silk robes (as noted on the National Gallery website, 'reserved for the most splendid occasions'). The realism of the patterns, and the soft folds in the garment, is such that you can almost feel it flow between your hands. And despite this vividness the tidiness is such that it feels idealised, a gorgeous distant dream- probably as intended, to depict this intimidating head of government. Loredan gazes serenely into the distance (as is the wont of Roman emperors, notes the National Gallery); it is not you he bothers about, trifling viewer. Patricia Fortini Brown notes that the authority and stillness of the image is such that Loredan the individual seems to have been eclipsed by his office; this is more a depiction of the abstract seat of power.