Introducing Bellini’s “Eyes”
I have recently introduced the argument that a significant number of compositions by Giovanni Bellini are not just representations of the apparent scene but, on another level, are representations of giant “heads”, “faces” or parts of faces, sometimes just “eyes”. They appear to represent the scene inside the artist’s mind, a view of the imagination at work. It is, as though, the scene takes place on the other side of their eyes, inside their head. Other parts of the face are often represented as faceted rock. In the example above St. Jerome sits to the side of a rocky nose. This fits our presumption that every painter paints himself while adding a poetic layer to what is normally described as a one-dimensional illusion or narrative. I have already shown a few examples by other artists including Leonardo and will be revealing many more. The representation of landscape as “inside” a head is a not uncommon feature of Renaissance art and continues in the work of a number of more recent artists, from Poussin and Velazquez to Egon Schiele and Picasso. It is very important as a link between one great artist and another.
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