Das Wunder der Kreuzreliquie an der Brücke San Lorenzo

In the 14th century a fragment said to come from the True Cross was given to one of Venice's charitable brotherhoods, and it quickly became a prized relic. Then, during a procession, it slipped from its bearer and fell into the canal beside the church of San Lorenzo. Bellini painted the moment that followed. Men leap into the water, gondolas crowd in, and grand Venetians kneel along the fondamenta, the stone walkways at the water's edge. In the end only Andrea Vendramin, head of the brotherhood, could lift the relic free, and he holds it up at the center. Bellini knew this district and its people, and he filled the banks with recognizable portraits, so the picture doubles as a gathering of Venice's leading families around 1500.