Madonna with Child

Belonging to the illustrious Venetian family of Vivarini painters, in particular being the son of Antonio and nephew of Bartolomeo, this painter’s personality in the Serenissima was partially obscured by the presence of the great Giovanni Bellini, the maestro who definitely instigated a turning point in Venetian Renaissance art. Alvise was nevertheless an excellent artist, closer in some respects to the Paduan Mantegna. Although some of his works are now lost, we can say that he created paintings characterized with a clean composition using bright but cool colors, which sometimes stiffen the figures in a kind of actualized paradise. All of this demonstrates a truly remarkable strength of expression. The present work derives its value from the figure of the Virgin posed in an astonished surrender, whose hand seems to protect her son like an insurmountable barrier. The dispersion of the bodies in geometric masses is very interesting, as is the division of the background into clearly delineated areas. This is an example of art becoming by metaphysical instinct, abandoning any easy luministic solution.