BELLINI: PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG COCKTAIL

According to Wikipedia, the Bellini was invented sometime between 1934 and 1948 by Giuseppe Cipriani, the founder of Harry’s Bar in Venice.   The Bellini is an official IBA (International Bartenders Association) cocktail that consists of puréed white summer peaches and ice cold Prosecco.  Cipriani’s original recipe called for a dash of raspberry or cherry juice to give the drink a pink glow.  He named the cocktail the Bellini because its unique pink color reminded him of the toga of a saint in a painting by 15th-century Venetian artist, Giovanni Bellini. 

It might have been this toga…

Sacra Conversazione (1505), Bellini

Or perhaps this one…

The Agony in the Garden (1465), Bellini

Giovanni Bellini (1430 – 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Venice into a family of artists.  His use of clear, slow-drying oil paints, introduced to Venice by the Sicilian painter, Antonello da Messina, revolutionized Venetian painting.  Bellini’s altar pieces and Madonnas, in particular, show his mastery of this new material, with which he was able to create deep, rich tints of sumptuous colors and detailed atmospheric gradations of tones.  His sensuous, coloristic style greatly affected the Venetian School, especially his pupil, Titian---and his brother-in-law, Andrea Mantegna.  

St. Sebastian (1480), Mantegna

Andrea Mantegna (1431 – 1506) was born near Padua and was an avid student of Greek and Roman archaeology.  His hard landscapes and somewhat rigid figures are evidence of his intense love of antiquities and his sculptural approach to painting.  Mantegna also experimented with perspective, a painting technique invented by Giotto.  Mantegna’s contribution to the invention was to lower the horizon line to create a greater sense of monumentality.  Although not always mathematically correct, his manipulation of space within the picture plane created astonishing optical illusions.

 

Lamentation of Christ, ca. 1480, Mantegna 

Being related by marriage and living in close proximity, Bellini and Mantegna intensively influenced each other’s art during their lives.  Mantegna’s spectacular visual inventions and his interest in classical sculpture made a profound impression on Bellini.  Reciprocally, Bellini’s mastery of color had a profound effect on Mantegna, whose use of color in his early works is hesitant and neutral.  By contrast, Mantegna’s mature works attest to his intimate familiarity with Bellini’s and show a more balanced use of color and a nuanced tonality.  Here's a shade of Bellini pink.

Judith and Holofernes, 1495, Mantegna

An exhibition at Berlin’s painting gallery offers a unique opportunity to explore and compare these two Renaissance masters.  Mantegna + Bellini, Masters of the Renaissance opened at the Gemäldegalerie on March 1^st and runs through June 30, 2019.  The exhibition presents over 100 paintings and drawings by the two artists, hanging them side by side in conversation with one another.  Here is a link to the Gemäldegalerie’s interactive website for the exhibition.  https://www.mantegnabellini.de/en/.  In addition to an informative text that assiduously avoids art-speak, there are lots of creative features and educational games to enjoy.  If the exhibition is half as much fun as the website, it should be a spectacular success. 

Dead Christ Supported by Angels (ca. 1475), Bellini

Success on the cocktail circuit, sadly, has continued to elude Mantegna.  Unlike his contemporary, Bellini, there is no IBA cocktail named after him.  Considering Mantegna's love of forced perspective, flinty landscapes, and classical antiquity, how about this for the Paduan?  

The Mantegna:  2 ounces Poli’s Marconi 46 Gin, poured straight on the rocks, with a sprig of rosemary and a Kalamata olive.  That'll give you a whole new perspective!

Keep it real!

Marilyn