Jessica (The Merchant of Venice) Jessica (The Merchant of Venice) Jessica is the daughter of Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, in William Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" (). In the play, she elopes with Lorenzo, a pennyless Christian, and a chest of her father's money, eventually ending up in Portia and Bassanio's household. In the play's dramatic structure, Jessica is a minor but pivotal role. Her actions motivate Shylock's vengeful insistence on his "pound of flesh" from Antonio; her relationships with Lorenzo and Shylock serves as a mirror and contrast to Portia's with Bassanio and with her father; her conversion to Christianity is the end of
Miracle of the Cross at the Bridge of S. Lorenzo Miracle of the Cross at the Bridge of S. Lorenzo The Miracle of the Cross at the Bridge of S. Lorenzo (Italian: "Miracolo della Croce caduta nel canale di San Lorenzo") is a painting by Italian Renaissance artist Gentile Bellini, dating from 1500. It is now housed in the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice. The painting was commissioned for the Grand Hall of the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista, the seat of the eponymous brotherhood in Venice. The commission included a total of nine large canvasses, by prominent artists of the time such as Bellini, Perugino, Vittore Carpaccio, Giovanni Mansueti,