The conservation of the center painting was funded by the Boston Chapter of Save Venice Inc., and the conservation of the wooden ceiling and other paintings was funded by Save Venice.

The Atrio Quadrato, or Square Atrium, is the first room at the top of the ceremonial golden staircase, or scala d’oro, of the Doge’s Palace. Important visitors such as foreign leaders and ambassadors would have been invited to wait in this room before entering the more formal chambers of the palace. During the dogeship of Girolamo Priuli (reigned 1559–1567) Jacopo Tintoretto was commissioned to decorate this room, and the canvases were likely completed between 1564 and 1565.

In the center of the elaborately carved and gilt ceiling, an octagonal painting depicts Doge Priuli as a venerable ruler humbly kneeling before two allegorical figures: they represent Justice, brandishing her sword and scales, and Peace, extending her olive branch. Justice and Peace were two virtues that the Venetian Republic especially espoused, and as a result, they became an essential component of Venice’s iconography of self-representation. The smaller rectangular monochrome canvas inserts were likely produced by Tintoretto’s assistants and depict four stories from the Old Testament, each representing an ideal embodied by the Venetian government: wisdom (Solomon) shown to the right of Priuli’s back, liberty (Esther), power (Samson), and wealth (Queen of Sheba). Personifications of the Four Seasons also appear in the corners of the ceiling.

Around 1578, Tintoretto began painting four additional canvases to create a cycle of mythological subjects for this room, which were later moved to the Sala dell’Anticollegio; the paintings depicting Mercury and the Three Graces, the Forge of Vulcan, Minerva Protecting Peace and Abundance from Mars, and the Wedding of Ariadne and Bacchus were also restored by Save Venice as part of the Tintoretto 500 campaign.

The octagonal canvas painting was removed from the ceiling and taken to another room in Palazzo Ducale for conservation, while scaffolding was erected in the Atrio Quadrato to restore the entire wooden ceiling and smaller paintings in-situ. Work was carried out by Gea Storace and a team of conservators from the CoRest firm, who removed surface grime, discolored varnish, and altered repainting, bringing to light the brilliant colors of Tintoretto’s palette and the vibrant gilding of the wooden ceiling.

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.

Jacopo Tintoretto (c. 1518/19–1594)
Doge Girolamo Priuli Presented by Saint Jerome to Personifications of Justice and Peace
1564-65, oil on canvas
230 x 230 cm, octagonal

Jacopo Tintoretto and Workshop
Judgement of Salomon
Esther Before Ahaseurus
Samson
Queen of Sheba
1564-65, tempera and oil on canvas with silver backing

Palazzo Ducale: Homepage

Dalla Costa, Thomas, Robert Echols, and Frederick Ilchman, eds. Tintoretto in Venice: A Guide. Venice: Marsilio, 2018.