| Barbarigo Altarpiece | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Giovanni Bellini |
| Year | 1488 |
| Medium | oil on panel |
| Dimensions | 200 cm × 320 cm (79 in × 130 in) |
| Location | San Pietro Martire, Murano |
The Barbarigo Altarpiece or Enthroned Madonna and Child with Angel Musicians and Saint Mark, Saint Augustine and Doge Agostino Barbarigo is a 1488 (dated on the throne) oil painting on panel by Giovanni Bellini, now in the church of San Pietro Martire in Murano.
Its commission is unusually well-documented for a work by Bellini. Uniquely Agostino Barbarigo had taken over from his brother Marco Barbarigo as doge. Marco and Agostino were not on good terms and Agostino was even suspected of killing his brother. To quell these rumours, Agostino began commissioning works promoting himself as the heir to and loyal supporter of his brother's work. These included St Mark's Clocktower (Torre dell'Orologio) from Mauro Codussi, and at the Doge's Palace, the monumental steps (Scala dei Giganti) from the brothers Marco and Pietro Lombardo, and a new wing reaching towards the Rio. He also privately commissioned a majestic funeral monument for Marco and himself in Santa Maria della Carità and commissioned Bellini twice, first to produce the official portrait of Marco for the Sala del Maggior Consiglio (1486–87) and then to produce a "large panel",[1] as his ex-voto for the Doge's Palace.[2]
- ^ (in Italian) Mariolina Olivari, Giovanni Bellini, in AA. VV., Pittori del Rinascimento, Scala, Firenze 2007. ISBN 88-8117-099-X
- ^ Ruggiero, 344