Restored in 2006 with Save Venice general funds.

Originally on the high altar of the Duomo of the town of Ceneda (today’s Vittorio Veneto), to the north of Venice in the Veneto region, this panel was formerly attributed to Jacobello del Fiore or his adopted son, Ercole del Fiore.

The panel was commissioned by Antonio Correr, portrayed on the lower right, who served as the bishop of Ceneda from 1409 to 1445. Two inscriptions, one on the frame and one on the panel, once dated the artwork to 1438 and were lost as a result of ill-considered cleaning in the 19th century. Upon his arrival in Ceneda, Correr financed the restoration of the Cathedral, including the remodeling of the main altar on which the panel was then placed.

In the painting, Christ crowns Mary as the Queen of Heaven in a complex setting that represents the Heavenly Jerusalem, its many mansions filled with an array of angels, prophets, and saints. The subject was of central importance to Venice, for the new Council Hall in the Palazzo Ducale was once decorated with a fresco of the Coronation of the Virgin, painted by Guariento di Arpo (c. 1365), in which Venice was personified as the Queen of Heaven. Kneeling at the foot of a throne in which Venice/Virgin is crowned by the Son of God, with this picture Correr succeded in celebrating both the Serenissima’s and his power, in fact turning the main altarpiece of Ceneda’s cathedral into his political apotheosis.

The painting was restored by conservator Lucia Tito of the CBC restoration firm, with the guidance of project director Giulio Manieri Elia 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.

Lorenzo da Venezia (active c. 1356 – 1372) [attr.] or Master of Ceneda
Coronation of the Virgin
c. 1438, egg tempera and gilding on wood
283 x 303 cm

Gallerie dell’Accademia: Homepage

Gallerie dell’Accademia: Link to the Work

De Marchi, Andrea. “Lorenzo e Jachomo da Venexia”: un percorso da Zanino a Jacopo Bellini e un enigma da risolvere. “Saggi e Memorie di storia dell’arte,” 27 (2003 [2004]): 71-100

Manieri Elia, Giulio, ed. Masterpieces Restored: The Gallerie dell’Accademia and Save Venice Inc. Venice: Marsilio, 2010, pp. 64-83