Restored in 2000 with funding from The James R. Dougherty, Jr. Foundation, through Beatrice Rossi-Landi, Trustee.

This relief sculpture depicting the Baptism of Christ was once installed on the façade of the church of San Giovanni dei Battuti on Murano, which was destroyed in 1837. Of a type common in fourteenth-century Venice, it may originally have been located over an altar or inserted in an interior wall of the church, perhaps in place of a painting. It was very likely commissioned by the confraternity of San Giovanni dei Battuti, founded in 1300 on Murano as a lay association dedicated to providing aid to the ill.

In the relief, Saint John baptizes Christ in the River Jordan, rendered in rhythmic, undulating waves; the Holy Spirit descends from heaven in the form of a dove, surrounded by rays of celestial light, while two angels bear witness to the holy event on the right.

The work was restored by conservator Anna Keller, with the guidance of project director Adriana Augusti of the Superintendency of Fine Arts of Venice.

For select projects, conservation dossiers in Italian containing limited textual and photographic documentation may be available for consultation by appointment at the Venice office of Save Venice and the Rosand Library & Study Center. For inquiries, please contact us at venice@savevenice.org.

Unidentified Venetian sculptor
Baptism of Christ
1360-1370, Istrian stone
150 x 100 cm

Museo del Vetro, Murano