The conservation of Paolo Veronese’s organ loft was funded by Andrés Santo Domingo in memory of his father Julio Mario Santo Domingo

On October 19, 1558, the prior of the church of San Sebastiano, Bernardo Torlioni, signed a contract with Alessandro Visentin commissioning a monumental organ. Seven days later an agreement was reached with “Maestro Domenico” from Treviso to build a wooden organ loft “to be made according to drawings by master Paolo [Veronese].” The gilding and carvings were then executed by Francesco Fiorentino and Bartolomeo Bolognese.

With the construction of this new element, Veronese was given the rare opportunity to design and integrate a three-dimensional object within the illusionistic architecture he had created for the walls of the church nave just months before. By 1560, Veronese’s vision was complete.

For the parapet of the organ loft, Veronese painted a series of small-scale panels decorated with panels of the Nativity and personified Virtues. He also produced the monochrome paintings on either side of the case, representing Saint Jerome and Blessed Pietro Gambacorta. The most striking among Veronese’s paintings of the organ complex, however, are the monumental organ shutters that enclose the case, protecting the pipes of the instrument within: they depict the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple when closed, and the Miracle at the Pool of Bethesda when opened. The shutters are directly attached to the fluted shafts of the columns of the organ case, which are not fixed to the capitals above and bases below, but rather rotate around a central metal axis.

The organ loft partially covers wall frescoes that Veronese finished in 1558, suggesting that the instrument may not have been part of the original plan for the church. When the organ pipes were removed for conservation during the 2016 campaign, Veronese’s untouched frescoes of two sibyls were revealed, and photographic documentation was produced to record their appearance.

The 2009-10 conservation study and maintenance were undertaken by Roberto Bergamaschi and Giovanna Menegazzi, which was funded by the California Chapter of Save Venice Inc.

In 2015, expert organ restorer Francesco Zanin dismantled the instrument and completed a maintenance treatment on the pipes and supporting structure, while conservator Egidio Arlango and his firm began the restoration of the painted canvases shutters and the wooden organ loft. Egidio and his team removed overpaint and grime to reveal colorful faux marble insets and unexpected hues on the wooden loft. The canvas shutters were moved to a side chapel in the church, where conservators removed layers of dirt and grime and altered overpainting from previous conservation treatments, restoring the brightness and legibility of Veronese’s scenes.

With the instrument temporarily removed, Veronese’s wall paintings of sibyls and illusionistic architecture that had been hidden behind the organ pipes for centuries were revealed. These frescoes, obscured from view for nearly 500 years and unaltered by previous restorations, provide fresh insight on Veronese’s techniques and pigment choices, made evident through crosssection analysis studies that identified Veronese’s original materials. The frescoes were photographed in detail and restorers lightly consolidated the surface of the hidden frescoes to prevent paint loss before the organ pipes were reinstalled in November 2015.

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.

Paolo Veronese
Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
1559, oil on canvas

Paolo Veronese
Miracle at the Pool of Bethesda
1559, oil on canvas

Paolo Veronese
Nativity
1559, oil on canvas

Paolo Veronese
Virtues
1559, oil on canvas