In the context of San Zaccaria Altarpiece, explore the Light and illusionism of the Style.
Bellini adds scenes of nature on either side of the work itself. This was his first altarpiece that uses natural lighting inside an architectural setting. The addition of sunlight amplifies the brilliance of the colorful work, and the shadows cast behind the subjects adds to the three-dimensionality of the piece. However, the addition of the outdoors to both sides of the altarpiece takes away from the illusionistic continuation of the piece inside the church architecture. Lastly, the positioning of the subjects adds to the depth. The way the saints are lined up, almost creates an aisle to the center of the image which is the Virgin Mary holding the child of Christ.Bellini also used metallic outlines and enamel to highlight certain aspects of his art. The outlines of the figures and objects are blurred in light and in shadows, yet each figure stays solidified and crisp. The altarpiece is similar to Frari Triptych because both indoor and outdoor perspectives were used in the piece; this is a common technique for Bellini.
Frari Triptych