The Illuminating Hand of Belbello da Pavia Belbello da Pavia remains a somewhat enigmatic figure in the landscape of 15th-century Italian illumination, yet his surviving works speak volumes about the artistic sensibilities flourishing in Lombardy during the Renaissance. Active primarily in Pavia, a city steeped in both religious tradition and burgeoning humanist thought, Belbello’s artistry offers a fascinating glimpse into the transition from Gothic manuscript traditions to the more refined aesthetics of the early Renaissance. While biographical details are scarce—a common fate for many med…