The portrait of the Doge Leonardo Loredana was officially commissioned by Bellini as an artist of the Venetian Republic. In this work, the Doge is depicted almost frontal – in spite of the existing tradition to portray faces portrayed in profile, including on medals, and on coins. Clear chiaroscuro is beautifully drawn high cheekbones, nose and stubborn chin of an intelligent and strong-willed face of an elderly person.
On a bright blue-green background, a white, with gold and silver, brocade mantle stands out. Her Doge put on the holiday Sreteniya – the day when he became engaged to the sea, taking a year of power over Venice. The oil work helped the artist to fill the air with space of the picture and thereby make the image of the portrait surprisingly alive. Leonardo Loredan was born in 1436, and in 1501 became a Venetian doge and held this post for twenty years, until his death.
Some critics believe that this portrait was written immediately after Loredan’s election as Doge, but there are documents showing that Bellini was doing some work on the private order of Loredana in 1504. Therefore, a portrait is usually dated 1504 year. This is the most famous portrait of the brush of Bellini and, certainly, one of his best works. The parade suit and the confident pose of Loredan underscore that before us is the head of one of the most influential European states of the time.
Sometimes this portrait is called overly generalized, but the image of the doge is by no means devoid of individuality. Bellini was almost the same age as the doge. They were probably in friendship, or at least sympathetic to each other. After all, they not only belonged to the same generation, but also were located approximately at one level of the social hierarchy. Portrait Loredana, differing by the thoughtful composition and depth of the artist’s penetration into the spiritual world of his hero, demonstrates Bellini’s excellent possession of the technique of oil painting..
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