Doge of Venice
(b 6 Nov 1436; elected 1501; d Venice, 22 June 1521).
Italian ruler and patron. He was born into a noble family of Venetian rulers and patrons. . . . Leonardo Loredan received a humanist education, subsequently making his fortune in Levantine trade while rising through the governing hierarchy of Venice. By 1489 he was an overseer of the building of S Maria dei Miracoli, Venice, by Pietro Lombardo, his only known involvement with the arts until his election as Doge. His long reign was dominated by the wars of the League of Cambrai (1508–17), but despite this the visual arts flourished. Although Venetian rulers were discouraged from commemorating themselves in public monuments or images, Loredan did not observe this tradition.
Paul H. D. Kaplan