Vittore Carpaccio is one of the most beloved painters of early Renaissance Italy, especially admired as the artist who captures the sanctity and splendor of Venice at the turn of the sixteenth century. The richness and diversity of his costumes and architecture embody the very essence of Venice five hundred years ago, a bustling, multiethnic crossroads of West and East. Carpaccio adds a taste for the poetic and fanciful in his work, creating fantastical settings enriched with contemporary detail. His large narrative canvases painted for local religious confraternities bring sacred history to life, but he was equally active in producing smaller paintings to decorate the homes of prosperous Venetians. Usually these were intended as aids to private devotion, but often, too, they were secular in subject, and showed scenes from classical mythology or everyday life. Carpaccio was a consummate draftsman, and he prepared his paintings with numerous drawings, ranging from rough preliminary sketches to beautifully refined studies. A generous selection of both paintings and drawings is presented in splendid detail in this richly illustrated volume.

With new research and insightful scholarship, curator Peter Humfrey, one of the world’s leading experts on Venetian Renaissance art, and this catalog’s seven contributing authors bring new perspectives to the work of this extraordinary artist, showing us why Vittore Carpaccio has long been celebrated as the master storyteller of Renaissance Venice.