VIVARINI, Alvise
(b. 1445/46, Venezia, d. 1503/5, Venezia)

Altarpiece of St Ambrose (detail)

1503
Panel
Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice

This painting (the Altarpiece of the Milanese) could be described as the last triumph of the fifteenth century in the altars of Venice. In the same period Giovanni Bellini was carrying through his gentle revolution of tonal painting. Within a few years Vivarini's hard, sharp outlines and vivid colouring were completely outmoded.