BELLINI, Jacopo
(b. ca. 1400, Venezia, d. 1470, Venezia)

Annunciation

1444
Panel
Sant'Alessandro, Brescia

Jacopo Bellini's fame in history lies in having been the father and teacher of his talented sons Giovanni and Gentile, as well as the father-in-law of Andrea Mantegna. But in his own time, he was very highly regarded as a painter in his own right. Relatively few pictures that are securely attributed to him have survived. Of these, the finest is this brilliant Annunciation, with its five engaging predella panels which illustrate incidents in the life of Mary. Jacopo demonstrates a connection with his teacher Gentile da Fabriano, but also an awareness of the new developments unfolding in Florence.