ANGEL WITH LUTE (DETAIL OF PRESENTATION), BY CARPACCIO
Vittore Carpaccio
FIVE
Venice the Magnificent is never very far removed from the pictures of Vittore Carpaccio (kahr-pah´-cho). It doesn't matter whether he is painting the story of Saint Ursula at Cologne or a scene from Holy Writ, Cologne is given a very Venetian look, and the Madonna or the Saints are in Venetian costumes and brocades.
This oriental love for splendor in dress has led some writers to believe that Carpaccio must have accompanied his master Gentile Bellini to Constantinople. When the sultan desired that Venice send one of her foremost artists to paint his portrait, the commission was given to Gentile Bellini. He may have taken Carpaccio with him. The portrait Bellini painted exists today in the Layard collection, recently bequeathed to the National Gallery, London.