In 1506, Albrecht Dürer visited Venice and wrote of Giovanni Bellini: “Everyone had told me he was a great man, and in fact he is. He is very old, but he is certainly still the best painter of all.” Bellini was the founding figure of the Venetian Renaissance, transforming painting through his mastery of light and colour (Rugolo, 2003).

This trail takes you to his altarpieces and sacred works—still luminous in the churches where they were created.

R/ Self-Portrait (presumed), Capitoline Museums, Rome