Despite never travelling further than Mantua, he was however aware of the discoveries in perspective and drawing being made in Florence thanks to his father Jacopo's travels. Bellini had grown up in natural surroundings like this and his love for nature married well with his fervent religious beliefs. The topography of this painting recalls the sparse open countryside of the Lombardi region. Bellini's fine religious parable acts also as an excellent example of his respect for the natural landscape. Beyond these foreground figures, in the distance, winding their way along the road, are the Roman soldiers with Judas in the lead. Visible in the clouds above the kneeling Jesus is an angel, holding aloft a cup and paten as symbols of Christ's sacrifice to come. In this version Christ kneels at a rock mound in prayer, while the disciples, Peter, James and John, sleep on the ground behind him. This painting depicts the common religious theme of Christ's time of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane before being taken prisoner by the Roman soldiers as a result of Judas' betrayal. In addition to his subtle rendering of costume and skin pigmentation, Bellini was able to add to the meteorological ambience of his scenes through his great mastery of light and color.The natural world was typically designed to add dramatic effect to the painted narrative, but there was a sparseness to Bellini's landscapes that were based on the open countryside in which he grew up. Unlike so many of his contemporaries, Bellini shows great respect for the natural landscape.His sophisticated paintings set the bar by which others would be judged. He perfected through oils a technique that allowed for the most subtle gradations of color. Bellini's experiments with oils only added to the general elegance of his work.His figures, both mortal and sacred, were painted thus with a lightness of touch that brought a new human tenderness to his religious and mythical parables. For a man of such hardy Christian convictions, Bellini was resolved to using painting to convey the nuances of the human figure.His work bears the influence of new ideas in anatomical perspective as well as a willingness to test the artistic possibilities for oil paint, newly exported into Italy through the port of Venice. Though a loyal son of Venice, Bellini was open to outside influences from within Italy and from Northern Europe.
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