In the mid-15th century, few artists dared to weave multiple episodes into a single panel, but Giovanni Bellini did just that in Three Stories of Drusiana and of St John the Evangelist, painted around 1465. What makes this work remarkable is its narrative ambition: Bellini attempts to capture three distinct miracles attributed to St John, a feat rarely attempted in Venetian art of the period. The painting stands at the crossroads of tradition and innovation, marking an early experiment in storytelling that would influence generations of painters to come. The panel unfolds like a visual tapestry, each scene flowing into the next.

On the left, St John raises Drusiana from the dead, his hand outstretched in a gesture of both command and compassion—a sign of divine authority. In the center, Drusiana, newly revived, kneels in gratitude, while the mourners’ faces register awe and disbelief. To the right, another miracle: St John subdues a venomous serpent, its coiled form echoing the dangers of heresy and sin.

The landscape is sparse, focusing attention on the figures, much as Andrea Mantegna would do in his own narrative works; yet Bellini’s softer modeling hints at the Venetian love of color and atmosphere. Though the precise patron of this painting remains unknown, its style and subject suggest it was created for a private devotional setting, typical of early Renaissance Venice. The medium, now uncertain, may have originally been tempera on panel, as was customary before oil gained favor. Over the centuries, the painting’s attribution has shifted—at times linked to the Bellini workshop as a whole—but most scholars now agree on Giovanni Bellini’s hand, noting the tender humanity in the figures.

Today, Three Stories of Drusiana and of St John the Evangelist is recognized as a key work from Bellini’s formative years, bridging the Gothic past and the dawn of Venetian painting.