| Artist | Giovanni Bellini |
|---|---|
| Year | c. 1487 |
| Type | Oil on panel |
| Dimensions | 471 cm × 258 cm (185 in × 102 in) |
| Location | Accademia, Venice |
The San Giobbe Altarpiece (Italian: Pala di San Giobbe) is a c. 1487 oil painting by the Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Bellini, now in the Accademia Gallery in Venice.
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This altarpiece is one of the masterworks of Bellini's mature period, and was painted for the second left altar of the church of San Giobbe in Venice. It was inspired by the San Cassiano Altarpiece by Antonello da Messina (1475-1476), and absorbed and further developed that work's innovations. The work is among Bellini's most famous, a claim made as early as De Urbe Sito, a description of Venice by Marco Antonio Sabellico (1487-1491).
The dating of the work is disputed, ranging from the early 1480s to no later than 1500. Jacopo Sansovino wrote in 1581 that the work for San Giobbe was Bellini's first using oil painting, which would imply an earlier date, nearer to Antonello's altarpiece.
The work is an example of Holy Conversation: Mary sits on a tall marble throne, holding the Child; at her feet are three musician angels, while at the side are, in symmetrical positions, six saints. They are, one the left, Sts. Francis, John the Baptist and Job; on the right, Sts. Dominic, Sebastian and Louis of Toulouse. The figures of the saints were imitated in numerous paintings that followed; in particular, the St. Francis of Giorgione's Castelfranco Madonna is nearly identical to Bellini's one in this work. The child's feature are very similar to those in the Contarini Madonna, also housed in the Accademia Gallery.
The upper part features a perspective coffered ceiling, flanked with pillars which are copies of the real ones at the original altar. Behind the Madonna is a dark niche. In the latter's half-dome is a gilt mosaic decoration in the Venetian style.