Venetian Art
When he was commissioned in the 1490s to depict the legend of Saint Ursula, Vittore Carpaccio chose Venice as the backdrop. Found in the very popular thirteenth-century Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine, the tale begins in England, where a pagan king is so inspired by hearing of the virtue of Ursula, daughter of the Christian king of Brittany, that he sends his ambassadors to ask for her hand for his son. In this detail, Carpaccio shows the English ambassadors arriving in a gondola. Note the glass-like colors and the evocation of atmosphere, both characteristic of Venetian style. (Detail from the Ursula Cycle, 1490–1496 [oil on canvas], Vittore Carpaccio, Galleria dell’ Accademia, Venice, Italy / photo: Cameraphoto Arte Venezia / Bridgeman Images.)