Venice was, at that time, a very important point where cultures and trade bordered on the eastern Mediterranean Sea and provided gateways to
Asia and
Africa. As noted, in his lifetime, Gentile was the most prestigious painter in Venice. Therefore, in 1479, he was chosen by the government of Venice to work for
Sultan Mehmed II in
Constantinople. However, in addition to his work at the Ottoman Court, Gentile's work also responded to other aspects of the East, including the
Byzantine Empire.
Constantinople prayer rug at the feet of the
Virgin Mary, an example of
Oriental carpets in Renaissance painting. In September 1479, Gentile was sent by the Venetian Senate to the new
Ottoman capital
Constantinople as part of the peace settlement between Venice and the Turks. His role was not only as a visiting painter but also as a cultural
ambassador for Venice. This was important to
Mehmed II, as he was particularly interested in the art and culture of Italy, and he attempted on several occasions to have himself portrayed by Italian artists. He finally reached his goal with Gentile, who is believed to have painted the portrait of Mehmed II now in the
National Gallery, London, (but largely overpainted). Subsequently, an
Oriental flavour appears in several of his paintings, including the portrait of a Turkish artist and
St. Mark Preaching at Alexandria (above). The last was completed by his brother,
Giovanni Bellini. According to
Carlo Ridolfi (who was born 87 years after Bellini's death) in his 1648 history of the Venetian painters:Bellini made a painting of the head of John the Baptist on a charger, the saint being revered by the Turks as a prophet. When the picture was brought before the Sultan, he praised the skill exhibited there, but drew Gentile's attention nonetheless to an error, which was that the neck stretched out too far from the head, and as it appeared to him that Gentile appeared unconvinced, to enable him to see the natural effect, he had a slave brought to him and had his head chopped off, demonstrating to him how, once separated from the chest, the neck contracted. Gentile, fearful at such barbarities, immediately tried in every way to be released from his contract in case one day he himself should be the victim of such a joke.This anecdote is likely apocryphal, as a similar story had been told by
Seneca of
Parrhasius, as well as of Michelangelo via a dubious source.
Greece '', c. 1500;
Szépmüvészeti Múzeum,
Budapest Gentile responded to other aspects of the East, including the Byzantine Greek Empire, as well as Venice's other trading partners in North
Africa and
Levant. Venice had a long-established relationship with the Eastern
Mediterranean.
Saint Mark, Venice's
patron, was from the Egyptian city of
Alexandria, and Venice's cultural and spiritual centre – the basilica of San Marco – was built in his honour (and as his mausoleum) in the Greek Byzantine style. Although
Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Greek Byzantine world had a continuing impact upon Venetian art and culture as a number of
Greek Christians fled Muslim rule. It was here that Gentile painted the portrait of Queen
Caterina Cornaro of Cyprus (at right). This is counted as the second known portrait including the queen, which is now in the collection of the
Szepmuveszeti Museum in Budapest. ==Retirement years and legacy==