The Altarpieces by Giovanni Bellini and Alvise Vivarini from San Cristoforo della Pace and their Patrons

Among the works of art formerly in the Venetian island church of San Cristoforo della Pace and dispersed after the Napoleonic suppressions were two altarpieces subsequently acquired for Berlin: a triptych by Bellini (destroyed in 1945); and a unified pala by Alvise Vivarini. The present article seeks to identify the patrons of both works on the basis of unpublished documents. It also investigates other aspects of the commissions: the likely dates of the two altarpieces, their iconography, and their placing in the church.