Elizabeth Huff’s Blog

So today I went back to the Accademia and asked if they knew of anyone I could talk to about Carpaccio’s paintings but unfortunately they couldn’t tell me who would be the person to contact, but I still went in anyway to see the paintings again. On a side note– Giovanni Bellini paintings look like the portraits you see in the Harry Potter movies because the figures in them are so life-like. You just expect them to move from the positions they are in. I think it is because of how clear and crisp his paintings are and how realistic the colors are. I would attach a picture but it wouldn’t do it justice. Another thing I always notice when looking at Medieval and Renaissance art is that none of them knew how to paint babies. They always look so awkward and disproportional. Either their heads are to small for their bodies or their faces look to old.

What I observed about the Carpaccio’s today was mainly that in all the nine paintings no one is smiling. Everyone has a very solemn expression on– even those in the background. Though all the figures are unique in appearance their facial expressions aren’t. I had never noticed that before so that was pretty interesting. Though none of the architecture stands out it is funny because the clock in the background of The Arrival of the English Ambassadors is very similar to the one that is in the Piazza San Marco. The only problem though is that the narrative cycle was painted prior to when they added the clock in San Marco. Though I don’t think they are self-portraits of Carpaccio, in a number of the larger paintings there is usually a male figure that looks out directly at the viewer. In all cases the figure has dark hair and is usually wearing dark clothes. I haven’t read anything about Carpaccio incorporating his portrait in the works but it is an interesting thought because there were a number of artists who did include their portraits into their works in subtle ways.

Besides looking at the St. Ursula cycle I also stopped by the room right before that where all the narrative paintings of procession scenes are located. Looking at Carpaccio’s Healing of the Possessed Man, you barely see the healing of the Possessed Man because it is such a minor factor in the overall painting. Carpaccio predominantly paints everyday life in Venice instead and the main subject is just a small aspect to the left hand side. What is neat is that he depicts the Rialto Bridge when it was covered and made of wood during the 15th century because it hadn’t been reconstructed to it’s current state at that point. What is also interesting is that in the entire paintings which is made up of a lot of figures there are only to woman that can easily be identified in the entire work. I love the dog that sits on the edge of the boat that is depicted in the foreground.