Carpaccio, Vittore (b Venice, c.1460; d Venice, 1525/6). Venetian painter. His life is poorly documented, and it is not known with whom he trained, but it is generally agreed that the chief influence on his work was Gentile Bellini. This is especially evident in the first of the two great cycles of paintings that are his chief claim to fame—the scenes from the life of St Ursula, executed in the 1490s for the Scuola di S. Orsola and now in the Accademia, Venice. Carpaccio's salient characteristics—his taste for anecdote, and his eye for the crowded detail of the Venetian scene—found their happiest expression in these paintings, one of which, the Miracle of the Cross, looks forward to the 18th-century compositions of Canaletto and Guardi. His other great cycle, mainly on the lives of St George and St Jerome, painted for the Scuola di S. Giorgio degli Schiavone, Venice, in 1502–7 (still in the Scuola), combines fantasy with wittily observed detail. After these two major commissions, however, Carpaccio's work declined in quality, although he still remained busy and continued to attract important patrons. In his later work he did an increasing number of altarpieces, a type of work for which he had little flair. On the other hand he was an excellent portraitist, as is seen particularly in his deservedly famous Two Courtesans (c.1510, Mus. Correr, Venice), probably a fragment of a larger work. It was a favourite work of Ruskin, who contributed to the great popularity Carpaccio enjoyed in the 19th century. His fame has perhaps declined somewhat since, but he is still rated as second only to Giovanni Bellini as the outstanding Venetian painter of his generation.

Carpaccio, Vittore (c.1460–1525/6). Venetian painter. His life is poorly documented, and it is not known with whom he trained, but it is generally agreed that the chief influence on his work was Gentile Bellini. This is especially evident in the first of the two great cycles of paintings that are his chief claim to fame—the scenes from the life of St Ursula, executed in the 1490s for the Scuola di S. Orsola and now in the Accademia, Venice. Carpaccio's salient characteristics—his taste for anecdote, and his eye for the crowded detail of the Venetian scene—found their happiest expression in these paintings, one of which, the Miracle of the Cross, looks forward to the 18th-century compositions of Canaletto and Guardi. His other great cycle, mainly on the lives of St George and St Jerome, painted for the Scuola di S. Giorgio degli Schiavone, Venice, in 1502–7 (still in the Scuola), combines fantasy with wittily observed detail. After these two major commissions, however, Carpaccio's work declined in quality, although he still remained busy and continued to attract important patrons. In his later work he did an increasing number of altarpieces, a type of work for which he had little flair. On the other hand he was an excellent portraitist, as is seen particularly in his deservedly famous Two Courtesans (c.1510, Correr Mus., Venice), probably a fragment of a larger work. It was a favourite work of Ruskin, who contributed to the great popularity Carpaccio enjoyed in the 19th century. His fame has perhaps declined somewhat since, but he is still rated as second only to Giovanni Bellini as the outstanding Venetian painter of his generation.

Carpaccio, Vittore (ca. 1460–1525)

The painter Vittore Carpaccio was born into a humble family of seafarers and fishermen and lived his entire life in Venice, Italy. He was a student of Lazzaro Bastiani and also studied under Gentile Bellini, although Bellini outshone him in prestige and commissions from the city's rulers and nobility. In 1501 the Doge of Venice commissioned paintings from Carpaccio for the Doge's Palace, where the painter's Lion of St. Mark can still be viewed. Carpaccio painted for religious schools and confraternities of Venice and is best known for The Legend of St. Ursula, a series of nine paintings completed about 1490 for Saint Ursula, a Venetian fraternity of merchants. His most famous paintings are large panoramic works, carefully drawn to glorify the city and its history, and without the intensity of religious and personal feeling that became fashionable among later Venetian painters. He depicted the lives of the saints in painting cycles of Life of the Virgin, Life of St. Stephen, Life of St. George, and Life of St. Jerome. His other famous works include Ten Thousand Martyrs of Mount Ararat, St. Sebastian, and The Holy Pilgrim. He set his paintings in the streets and homes of the town where he lived, and in this way his works provide a realistic look at the Venice of the Renaissance.

Vittore Carpaccio , c.1450-1522, Venetian painter, influenced by Gentile and Giovanni Bellini. His delightful narrative paintings reflect the pageantry of 15th-century Venice. They also offer a fanciful view of the Middle East, gained through contemporary drawings. His style is notable for its rich color, luminosity, and wealth of detail. Among his best paintings are the cycle depicting the life of St. Ursula, the St. George series, the Presentation in the Temple (all: Academy, Venice); scenes from the life of St. Stephen (Louvre; Brera, Milan); Meditation on the Passion (Metropolitan Mus.); Saint Reading and other works (National Gall. of Art, Washington, D.C.).

Bibliography: See T. Pignatti's Carpaccio (1958).

Carpaccio, Vittore (1460–1525) Venetian painter. His narrative paintings relate incidents against a background of an idealized Venice. His cycle of scenes from the legend of St Ursula has an exceptional vitality. Carpaccio's range of subjects varied from religious paintings, such as The Presentation of Christ in the Temple, to the enchanting Two Venetian Ladies.