polittico della chiesa di Sant'Anna di Capodistria

The Polyptych from the Church of Sant'Anna di Capodistria, now at the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua, dates from 1513 and represents one of Cima's last major commissions. The multi-panel altarpiece format was becoming old-fashioned by this date, as unified compositions superseded the compartmentalized polyptych structure. Cima da Conegliano, active in Venice and his native Conegliano from the 1480s until around 1517, was the most accomplished Venetian follower of Giovanni Bellini in the generation before Giorgione and Titian transformed the tradition. His cool precise light, his characteristic Veneto landscape backgrounds, and his composed figure types gave his altarpieces and devotional panels a quality of contemplative clarity that served the devotional needs of the churches and private patrons throughout northeastern Italy who commissioned him. This work demonstrates the consistent quality that made him one of the most trusted religious painters in the Venetian world.

The polyptych format requires Cima to create independent compositions for each panel that nonetheless relate to each other as a unified whole. His characteristic precision and clarity serve this format well, with each compartment containing a fully resolved image.