Gentile Bellini, 'Seated Scribe' about 1479-80. © Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. Photo: Tom Lingner.

Bellini and the East

12 April - 25 June 2006
Sunley Room Admission free

Supported by Altajir Trust

In 1453 the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople, capital of the Christian Byzantine Empire. This event transformed European politics, culture and society. This focused exhibition examined images of the Muslim and Christian Eastern Mediterranean that were produced subsequently by the great Venetian painters Gentile and Giovanni Bellini.

Gentile Bellini spent some time in Istanbul as the guest of Sultan Mehmet II, and was fascinated by the Sultan's court and city. The work reflects their knowledge of and sympathetic interest in both Byzantium, and the Islamic civilisation that followed it. Greek architecture and painting were the basis of Venetian art, and many Byzantine Greeks felt an affinity to Venice.

Highlights of the exhibition included paintings and drawings produced by artists working in both European and Islamic traditions, including the exquisite 'Seated Scribe'.

The exhibition was organised by the National Gallery, London, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.

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