Bellini, Giovanni (c.1430-1516)
Giovane donna nuda allo specchio (Young woman at her toilette)
1515
Oil on poplar panel, 62.9 x 78.3 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Inscription: “Joannes bellinus faciebat M.D.X.V.”
As an elderly man, Bellini turned to the depiction of a new, “modern” subject, the female nude figure. In a balanced interplay of warm and cool colours, round and angular shapes, of proximity and distance, of action and passivity, the Madonna painter pays homage to the sight of a young woman. Immersed in its reflection, it also becomes the epitome of contemplative contemplation. The real theme of the work, however, is the beauty and creative power of painting. (KHM)