Dieu le Père

Giovanni Bellini's Dieu le Père (God the Father) of around 1510, a late devotional work, depicts the first person of the Trinity in the traditional image of the Ancient of Days — the white-bearded paternal figure whose gesture of blessing encompasses the entirety of creation. The image of God the Father presented the painter with the paradox of making visible the invisible divine origin, and Bellini's late handling of the subject resolves the theological difficulty through atmospheric luminosity and formal authority.

The late oil technique produces the warm, glowing surface characteristic of Bellini's final years. God the Father is rendered with monumental dignity, the broad handling and warm palette reflecting the confident, simplified manner of the artist's extreme old age.