Restored in 1978 with Save Venice general funds.

Giovanni Contarini was a follower of Titian and imitated the great master’s techniques in his own paintings; he received two commissions for paintings in the Sala della Quattro Porte (Room of the Four Doors). His epic representation of the Battle of Verona has overshadowed his votive picture of Doge Marino Grimani (reigned 1595–1605).

In the painting, the doge kneels in reverence before the Madonna, in the company of Saint Mark, the patron saint of Venice; Saint Sebastian, a saint invoked for protection and healing from the plague; and Marina, his personal patron saint. Saint Marina was a pious Christian in eighth-century Lebanon who disguised herself as a man in order to enter the monastic life with her widowed father. Later in her life, she was accused of fathering a child; instead of revealing her identity, she accepted the accusation and raised the child herself for the sake of maintaining her monastic life. Marino Grimani himself was highly regarded as doge for making personal financial sacrifices in order to support impoverished Venetians.

The work was restored by conservators Serafino and Ferruccio Volpin, with the guidance of project director Giovanna Nepi Scirè 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.

Giovanni Contarini (1549–1605)
Doge Marino Grimani Adoring the Madonna with Saints Mark, Marina, and Sebastian
1595-1600, oil on canvas
400 x 210 cm
Sala delle Quattro Porte, Palazzo Ducale

Palazzo Ducale: Homepage

Wolters, Wolfgang. The Doge’s Palace in Venice: A Tour Through Art and History. Berlin: Deutscher Kunstverlag, 2010.