Art Object Page

Overview

Giovanni Bellini and Titian’s The Feast of the Gods is one of the greatest Renaissance paintings in the United States by two fathers of Venetian art. In this illustration of a scene from Ovid's Fasti, the gods, with Jupiter, Neptune, and Apollo among them, revel in a wooded pastoral setting, eating and drinking, attended by nymphs and satyrs. According to the tale, the lustful Priapus, god of fertility, stealthily lifts the gown of the sleeping nymph Lotis, as seen in the painting. A moment later, he will be foiled by the braying of Silenus' ass and the assembled deities will laugh at Priapus' misadventure.

The Feast was the first in a series of mythologies, or bacchanals, commissioned by Duke Alfonso d'Este to decorate the camerino d'alabastro (alabaster study) of his castle in Ferrara. Bellini completed it two years before his death in 1514. Years later, the Duke commissioned two reworkings of portions of Bellini’s canvas. Dosso Dossi made an initial alteration to the landscape at left and added the pheasant and bright green foliage to the tree at upper right. Most famously, Bellini’s student, Titian, made a second set of alterations, painting out Dosso’s landscape with the dramatic, mountainous backdrop now seen, leaving only Dosso’s pheasant intact. It is possible that Titian wished to harmonize the Feast with the other, later paintings he also created for the camerino at the Duke’s behest. The figures and elements of the bacchanal were untouched by the later artists and remain Bellini’s own. The original tonalities and intensity of the colors have recently been restored, and the painting has regained its sense of depth and spaciousness.

Inscription

lower right on wooden tub: joannes bellinus venetus / p MDXIIII

Provenance

Probably commissioned by Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara [d. 1534);[1] by inheritance to his son, Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara [d. 1559]; by inheritance to his son, Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara [d. 1597]; by inheritance to his cousin, Cesare d'Este, Duke of Ferrara; confiscated 1598 from the Castello at Ferrara by Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini [d. 1621], Rome, when he was acting as Papal Legate and recorded in his inventory of 1603; by inheritance to his nephew, Cardinal Ippolito Aldobrandini [d. 1638], Rome, and recorded in his inventory of 1626; by inheritance to his niece, Olimpia Aldobrandini Borghese Pamphilj [d. 1681], Rome, and recorded in her pre-1665 inventory and 1682 posthumous inventory; by inheritance to her son, Giovan Battista Pamphilj Aldobrandini [d. 1710], Rome;[2] Aldobrandini heirs, until the line became extinct in 1760;[3] by inheritance 1769 to Paolo Borghese Aldobrandini [d. 1792], Rome; by inheritance to his nephew, Giovan Battista Borghese Aldobrandini [d. 1802], Rome; purchased 1796/1797 by Pietro Camuccini [1761-1833] for the collection of his brother, Vincenzo Camuccini [1771-1844], Rome;[4] presumably by inheritance to Vincenzo's son, Giovanni Battista Camuccini [1819-1904], Rome; sold 1853 with the entire Camuccini collection through Antonio Giacinto Saverio, Count Cabral, Rome,[5] to Algernon Percy, 4th duke of Northumberland [1792-1865], Alnwick Castle, Northumberland; by inheritance to his cousin, George Percy, 5th duke of Northumberland [1778-1867], Alnwick Castle; by inheritance to his son, Algernon George Percy, 6th duke of Northumberland [1810-1899], Alnwick Castle; by inheritance to his son, Henry George Percy, 7th duke of Northumberland 1846-1918], Alnwick Castle; sold 16 June 1916 to (Thomas Agnew & Sons, London) on joint account with (Arthur J. Sulley and Co., London);[6] inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, after purchase in 1921 by funds of the estate;[7] gift 1942 to NGA.

[1] Possibly commissioned by his sister Isabella d'Este; final payment made to Bellini by Alfonso in 1514; painting located in Camerino d'Alabastro of the Castello until 1598.

[2] Giovan was the son of Olimpia Aldobrandini by her second marriage, to Camillo Pamphili; upon his inheritance, Giovan changed his name to Aldobrandini. His brother Cardinal Benedetto [d. 1730] also inherited some paintings.

[3] In 1760, the paintings were involved in a lawsuit between the Colonna and Borghese, and were settled on the second son of the head of the Borghese in 1769.

[4] Jaynie Anderson, "The Provenance of Bellini's Feast of the Gods and a New/Old Interpretation," Studies in the History of Art 45, Symposium Papers 25 (1993): 271.

[5] Cabral was Northumberland's attorney in Rome; he negotiated the transaction with Camuccini; a seal with what is probably his coat-of-arms is on the back of the painting. See Anderson 1993, 269-270.

[6] The painting is number J1755 in Agnew's records (see Thos. Agnew & Sons, Picture Stock Book, 1904-1933, Section 2 [which records paintings purchased jointly by Agnew and a partner]; NGA27/1/1/10, Research Centre, National Gallery, London; copy in NGA curatorial files; digitized and available at https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/research/research-centre/agnews-stock-books, accessed 17 May 2017).

[7] Although the painting was exhibited in 1920 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as from the collection of Carl W. Hamilton, New York, he probably only had it on credit, as he had many paintings from Duveen Brothers, Inc. on the same basis. According to a history of the Widener collection written by Edith Standen, the Widener curator, Joseph Widener "would not have the Bellini listed as having passed through the Carl Hamilton Collection...because, he said, Mr. Hamilton never completed the payments on it." She also wrote that Widener "said the Duke of Northumberland tried to sell him the picture before World War I." (Handwritten manuscript and typed copy, Edith Standen Papers, Gallery Archives, National Gallery of Art, Washington; copy in NGA curatorial files.)

The painting is not recorded as sold in Agnew's records until 1922 (see note 6). However, Arthur Sulley appears to have handled the sale to Widener. Sulley wrote to the collector about the painting in 1917, and his letter of 26 September 1921 to Widener states that the painting will be delivered around 10 October 1921 (both letters in NGA curatorial files).

Associated Names

Agnew & Sons, Ltd., Thomas
Aldobrandini Borghese Pamphilj, Olimpia
Aldobrandini, Ippolita, Cardinal
Aldobrandini, Paolo Borghese
Aldobrandini, Pietro, Cardinal
Borghese Aldobrandini, Giovan Battista
Camuccini, Giovanni Battista, Baron Vincenzo
Camuccini, Vincenzo
Este, Duke of Ferrara, Alfonso I d'
Este, Duke of Ferrara, Alfonso II d'
Este, Duke of Ferrara, Cesare d'
Este, Duke of Ferrara, Ercole II d'
Northumberland, Algernon George Percy, 6th Duke of
Northumberland, Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of
Northumberland, George Percy, 5th Duke of
Northumberland, Henry George Percy, 7th Duke of
Pamphilj Aldobrandini, Giovan Battista
Saverio, Count Cabral, Antonio Giacinto
Sulley & Co., Arthur J.
Widener, Joseph E.

Exhibition History

1856: British Institution, London, 1856, no. 48, as The Gods feasting on the Fruits of the Earth.

1920: Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1920, unnumbered catalogue.

1990: Tiziano [NGA title: Titian: Prince of Painters], Palazzo Ducale, Venice; National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1990-1991, no. 19, repro.

2003: Titian, The National Gallery, London; Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 2003, no. 15, repro.

2006: Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, and the Renaissance of Venetian Painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, 2006-2007, no. 32, repro., fig. 7 in brochure.

Bibliography

1865: Hartshorne, Rev. C.H. A Guide to Alnwick Castle. London, 1865: 62.

1923: Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1923: unpaginated, repro., as by Giovanni Bellini.

1930: Valentiner, Wilhelm R., ed. Unknown Masterpieces in Public and Private Collections. London, 1930: n.p., pl. 18.

1931: Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1931: 106, repro., as by Giovanni Bellini.

1935: Tietze, Hans. Meisterwerke europäischer Malerei in Amerika. Vienna, 1935: 73, repro. (English ed., Masterpieces of European Painting in America. New York, 1939: 73, repro.).

1942: Works of Art from the Widener Collection. Foreword by David Finley and John Walker. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 5, as by Giovanni Bellini.

1944: Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. Masterpieces of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1944: 62, color repro., as by Giovanni Bellini.

1948: Paintings and Sculpture from the Widener Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1948 (reprinted 1959): 14, repro., as by Giovanni Bellini.

1951: Einstein, Lewis. Looking at Italian Pictures in the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1951: 74-78, repro., as by Giovanni Bellini.

1956: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1956: 24, color repro., as by Giovanni Bellini.

1957: Shapley, Fern Rusk. Comparisons in Art: A Companion to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. London, 1957 (reprinted 1959): pl. 45

1960: Shapley, Fern Rusk. Later Italian Painting in the National Gallery of Art. Washington, D.C., 1960 (Booklet Number Six in Ten Schools of Painting in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.): 22, color repro., as by Giovanni Bellini.

1960: The National Gallery of Art and Its Collections. Foreword by Perry B. Cott and notes by Otto Stelzer. National Gallery of Art, Washington (undated, 1960s): 6, as by Giovanni Bellini.

1963: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 144, repro.

1965: Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 12, as by Giovanni Bellini.

1966: Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. A Pageant of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. 2 vols. New York, 1966: 1:154, color repro., as by Giovanni Bellini.

1968: European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1968: 5, repro., as by Giovanni Bellini.

1973: Finley, David Edward. A Standard of Excellence: Andrew W. Mellon Founds the National Gallery of Art at Washington. Washington, 1973: 93, 97 repro.

1974: Fehl, Philipp. "The Worship of Bacchus and Venus in Bellini's and Titian's Bacchanals for Alfonso d'Este." Studies in the History of Art vol. 6 (1974):38, 42-55, 58, 61, 79, repro.

1975: European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 22, repro., as by Giovanni Bellini.

1979: Shapley, Fern Rusk. Catalogue of the Italian Paintings. 2 vols. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1979: I:38-47, II:pl. 26, 26A, 26B.

1979: Sutton, Denys. "Robert Langton Douglas. Part III." Apollo 109 (June 1979): 431-431 [149-150].

1979: Watson, Ross.The National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1979: 29, pl. 13.

1982: Alsop, Joseph. The Rare Art Traditions: The History of Art Collecting and Its Linked Phenomena Wherever These Have Appeared. Bollingen series 35, no. 27. New York, 1982: 92, fig. 34.

1984: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 201, no. 239, color repro.

1985: European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 41, repro.

1990: Bull, David and Plesters, Joyce. "The Feast of the Gods: Conservation, Examination, and Interpretation." Studies in the History of Art 40 (1990).

1991: Gingold, Diane J., and Elizabeth A.C. Weil. The Corporate Patron. New York, 1991: 91-92, 164-165, 200-201, color repro.

1991: Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 198, 203, color repro.

1992: National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 31, repro.

1992: Rearick, W. R. "From Arcady to the Barnyard." Studies in the History of Art 36 (1992): repro. no. 17.

1992: Tempestini, Anchise. Giovanni Bellini: catalogo complete dei dipinti. Florence, 1992: 9, 290-295, no. 103.

1993: Anderson, Jaynie. "The Provenance of Bellini's Feast of the Gods and a New/Old Interpretation." Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993): 264-287, repro. no. 10.

1993: Brown, David Alan. "The Pentimenti in The Feast of the Gods." Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993): 288-299, repro. no. 1, 2, 5, 7, 10.

1993: Bull, David. "The Feast of the Gods: Conservation and Investigation." Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993): 366-373, repro. no. 1-4, 6-9.

1993: Holberton, Paul. "The Pastorale or Fete champetre in the Early Sixteenth Century." Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993): 245-255, repro. no. 9.

1993: Manca, Joseph. "What is Ferrarese about Bellini's Feast of the Gods?" Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993):300-313, repro. no. 1, 2.

1993: Plesters, Joyce. "Examination of Giovanni Bellini's Feast of the Gods: A Summary and Interpretation of the Results." Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993): 374-391, repro. no. 1, 2.

1993: Sheard, Wendy Stedman. "Antonio Lombardo's Reliefs for Alfonso d'Este's Studio di Marmi: Their Significance and Impact on Titian." Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993): 317, 320.

1993: Steinberg, Arthur. "Blurred Bloundaries, Opulent Nature, and Sensuous Flesh: Changing Technological Styles in Venetian Painting, 1480-1520." Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993): 212-213.

1995: Humphrey, Peter. Painting in Venice. New Haven, 1995: 144-146, col. fig. 104.

1996: Tansey, Richard G. and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner's Art Through the Ages. 10th ed. Fort Worth, 1996: 776-777, color fig. 23.57.

1997: Goffen, Rona. Titian's Women. New Haven and London, 1997: no. 67, repro.

1997: Wilkins, David G. and Bernard Schultz and Katheryn M. Linduff. Art Past-Art Present, New York, 1997, no. 6-3, repro.

1998: Cheney, Liana de Girolami. "Love and Death." In Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art, edited by Helene E. Roberts. 2 vols. Chicago, 1998: 1:527.

1998: Gibson, Sarah S. "Bacchnalia/Orgy." In Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art. Edited by Helene E. Roberts. 2 vols. Chicago, 1998: 1:100.

2002: Mack, Rosamund E. Bazaar to Piazza: Islamic Trade and Italian Art, 1300-1600. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London, 2002: 105-106, fig. 106.

2002: Pächt, Otto. Venezianische Malerei des 15. Jahrhunderts: die Bellinis und Mantegna. Munich, 2002: 235-236, fig. 211.

2003: Gregori, Mina, ed. In the Light of Apollo: Italian Renaissance and Greece. 2 vols. Exh. cat. National Gallery and Alexandros Souzos Museum, Athens, 2003-2004: 1:329.

2004: Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 84-85, no. 61, color repro.

2004: Santucci, Paola. Su Andrea Mantegna. Naples, 2004: 210.

2008: Bacchi, Andrea and Luciana Giacomelli, eds Rinascimento e passione per l'antico: Andrea Riccio e il suo tempo. Exh. cat. Castello di Buonconsiglio. Trento, 2008: 360.

2008: Giovanni Bellini. Exh. cat. by Mauro Lucco and Giovanni Carlo Federico Villa. Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome, 2008-2009. Milan, 2008: 52 fig. 1 (detail), 61-64, fig. 9, 99 fig. 13 (detail), 306, 308.

2010: Variano, John. Wine--A Cultural History. London, 2010: 120, 121, fig. 53.

2013: Campbell, Stephen J. and Michael W. Cole. Italian Renaissance Art. New York, 2013: 402-403, color fig. 13.46.

2019: Cranston, Jodi. Green Worlds of Renaissance Venice. University Park, 2019: 148-149, color fig. 79.

National Gallery of Art