The Age of Change. From Bellini to Tintoretto. The Renaissance in Venice

Professor of the University of Glasgow, specialist in the history of Venetian Renaissance art Tom Nichols discusses how the birth of the Renaissance style in Venice transformed its cultural life. Famous artists, sculptors, architects—Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Palladio, and many others significantly influenced the departure from the traditional Venetian principle of collaborative work among several anonymous masters on a single work.

Tom Nichols divides the era of artistic change in the city's life into two main stages—until 1500, when elements of Renaissance art subtly blend with traditional "Venetian-ness,"—and from 1500 onward, when Venice begins to rapidly adopt advanced Renaissance trends from other leading cultural centers in Italy. Moreover, the status of the artist himself changes—he gains recognition as an independent creative demiurge. Venice transcends the boundaries of traditional communalism and collectivism, and the best artists of the time increasingly work on commissions from private patrons, collectors, aristocrats, and foreign courts.

Tom Nichols is an art history lecturer and the course director at the University of Glasgow. He is the author of numerous publications on Venetian Renaissance art, including the monographs Tintoretto: Tradition and Identity, Renaissance Art: A Beginner's Guide, and Titian and the End of the Venetian Renaissance.