How Bellini paints the idea of a leader | National Gallery

In this portrait of a Venetian doge, Giovanni Bellini mixes razor-sharp details with soft, blurred edges. He creates an image of a powerful leader, but he also creates a sense of otherworldliness. Portrait painter Tai Shan Schierenberg shares why he thinks this portrait was unlike those that came before it, and why it continues to captivate us 500 years later. …