"Portrait of Catarina Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus" by Gentile Bellini

Gentile Bellini (c.1429-1507), Venetian painter, was one of the Bellini family of painters; his father was Jacopo Bellini and his brother was Giovanni Bellini. Gentile is best known for his paintings that captured the appearance of Venice in his days, and this works are valuable portrayals of life in a city during the late 1400's. He was also noted for his portrait painting and episodes from the lives of early Christian saints .

His work includes large decoration of the Scuola Grande di San Marco (1470s) in conjunction with his brother Giovanni, and the Procession of the Relic of the Cross in the Piazza di San Marco (1496). In 1478 he was chosen by the government of Venice to go to Constantinople to paint Sultan Mahomet II. Subsequently an Oriental flavor of the Islamic painting tradition appeared in several of his paintings, including the portrait of a Turkish artist and St. Mark Preaching at Alexandria. The last was completed by his brother, Giovanni Bellini.