Scion of an artistic dynasty, Giovanni Bellini is arguably the greatest Venetian painter of the early Renaissance. His astonishing naturalism revolutionised altarpiece painting and is still a source of wonder, as any visit to Frari in Venice will confirm. Most of what we know about this great artist comes from the earliest biographies by Vasari and Ridolfi printed here - the Ridolfi never before translated into English. A different and very personal insight is given by extensive correspondence with Bellini’s great but neglected patron Isabella d'Este.