BELLINI, Giovanni
(b. ca. 1426, Venezia, d. 1516, Venezia)

Dead Christ Supported by Angels (Pietà)

c. 1474
Tempera on panel, 91 x 131 cm
Pinacoteca Comunale, Rimini

The painting originates from the sacresty of the church of San Francesco in Rimini. The attribution to Bellini is universally accepted.

The Pietà paintings of later years (like this painting in Rimini) are, compared to the earlier, pervaded by a poignant and highly personal lyricism, which has the effect of transfiguring the divine drama into an expression of intense grief and infinite melancholy.