This is a Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan, a sixteenth-century ruler of republican Venice which was completed in 1501 by Italian renaissance painter Giovanni Bellini. He is presented in ceremonial dress in an official capacity of power – however Loredan does not wear a crown as he is not royalty. His power is indicated by the high placement of the head on the canvas and the fact that the Doge does not lower himself to look at us. Yet the flesh has a heightened realism – perhaps referring to the mortality of all princes.
Giovanni Bellini’s Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan is in the National Gallery in London.