In the context of San Giobbe Altarpiece, discuss the Sacra Conversazione of the Symbols.
The altarpiece is a sacra conversazione, a piece of art that combines holy figures from across time into one place, surrounding the Virgin and Christ child, often with angels nearby playing music. One difference between Bellini’s sacra conversazione and others is that it appears as though the figures are interacting with each other. The angels are gazing up at St. Job, St. Job is looking at the Virgin, St. Francis on the left is breaking the fourth wall of the painting and inviting the audience into the fictive scene. When compared to other sacra conversazione, examples being the San Marco Altarpiece, the Frari Triptych and the San Zaccaria Altarpiece, not only is the San Giobbe Altarpiece much larger and shows the full stature of all figures in the scene, but it also is contained in an interior space, which was very uncommon in Venetian pieces at the time, which oft included an open sky, or an airy feel to the background.
San Marco Altarpiece sacra conversazione fourth wall St. Francis San Zaccaria Altarpiece altarpiece Job Altarpiece Frari Triptych angel San Giobbe