_Giovanni Bellini_ (Venetian: 1426-1516). _See 189._
A picture of Bellini's earlier period, the original of numerous
versions and copies in private and public galleries, presented to the
National Gallery by one of the trustees, the Earl of Carlisle. The
Virgin is "one of those magnificent Venetian women whose _morbidezza_
profoundly moved the painters of their country, marked by a grave,
suave, and restful expression, instinct with unconscious dignity; this
is the countenance of a Venetian woman to the life, not over refined,
but full of repose, the repose of vigour and conscious strength,
not the languor of debility" (_Athenæum_). The diaper of the High
Priest's robe contains figures of antelopes, a curious instance of the
straightforward mode of the artist, who, no doubt, employed as a model
a veritable robe, and one of Oriental or Sicilian origin. Embroideries
of this category were frequently used in Venice of old. The same
Oriental embroidery is to be seen in pictures by other Venetian artists
in which the High Priest is introduced.