Vittore Carpaccio

Vittore Carpaccio (UK: kar-PATCH-ee-oh, US: -⁠PAHTCH-, Italian: [vitˈtoːre karˈpattʃo]; c. 1460/65 – c. 1525) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school who studied under Gentile Bellini. Carpaccio was largely influenced by the style of the early Italian Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina (c. 1430–1479), as well as Early Netherlandish painting. Although often compared to his mentor Gentile Bellini, Vittore Carpaccio's command of perspective, precise attention to architectural detail, themes of death, and use of bold color differentiated him from other Italian Renaissance artists.

Many of his works display the religious themes and cross-cultural elements of art at the time; his portrayal of Saint Augustine in His Study from 1502, reflects the popularity of collecting "exotic" and highly desired objects from different cultures.

Carpaccio's works ranged from single pieces painted on canvas to altarpieces and large pictorial cycles. Several of the altarpieces, including St. Thomas Aquinas Enthroned (1507), Presentation of Christ in the Temple (1510), and Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand (1515), were commissioned by churches in Venice, while the pieces following the year 1510 were primarily commissioned by individual patrons in Venice. One of his largest pictorial series, The Legend of Saint Ursula, was begun in 1490.

He is perhaps known best for his large urban scenes, such as the Miracle of the Relic of the Cross at the Ponte di Rialto. This work offers some of the best impressions of Venice at the height of its power and wealth, illustrating the strong sense of civic pride among its citizens. In other paintings he demonstrates a sense of fantasy that seems to look back to medieval romance, rather than sharing in the pastoral vision of the next generation.

By about 1510 Carpaccio's style was perceived by contemporaries as too conservative, showing little influence from the Humanist trends that transformed Italian Renaissance painting during his lifetime. Scholarship in English dedicated to his biography and works remains meager when compared with the scholarship about his Venetian contemporaries, such as Giovanni Bellini or Giorgione.