The Art of the Venetian Renaissance

Discover the colourful, sensual and spiritual world of the Venetian Renaissance. In contrast to the linear style of the Florentines, Venetian painters emphasised light and colour. Venice was a crossroads of East and West, with trade that brought a variety of dyes and pigments such as Ultramarine (literally translated as “beyond the sea” ) which the Venetians used for their rich textiles and great oil paintings in churches and palazzos.

In this Salon study we will trace the development of painting in 16th-century Venice — Giovanni Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese. We will also look at the city itself, with its unique combination of Gothic and Classical architecture — the Gothic grandeur of San Marco and the Ca d’Oro beside Palladio’s grand churches San Giorgiore Maggiore and Il Redentore. Finally, we will explore the music of Claudio Monteverdi, opera’s first master — we will listen to and discuss some of his madrigals and selections from L’Orfeo.

Over six meetings we will cover the following artists and subjects:

1.  Bellini; Giorgione 
2.  Titian I; Carpaccio 
3.  Titian II 
4. Tintoretto; Veronese
5. Architecture – Ruskin, Palladio 
6.  Music – Monteverdi 

JOINING DETAILS:

• Six meetings led by Sean Forester live on Zoom
• Thursdays, 14 January – 18 February 2027, 6.30-8.30 pm (UK)
• Sean Forester will provide a Padlet showing the artworks 
• Recommended (but not required) reading:
  Painting in Renaissance Venice by Peter Humfrey, ISBN: 978-0300067156
  Venice: Art & Architecture by Marion Kaminski, ISBN: ‎ 978-3848003235
• £240 for six meetings