Restored in 2018-19 with funding from Pat Lovejoy, in honor of her daughters Ashlyn, Katie, and Carly.

These four small paintings of the Virgin Mary, executed in the mid-seventeenth-century, now hang in the sacristy of the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute.

The first Madonna is depicted looking heavenward, her head silhouetted against a glowing halo of pale yellow. In each of the three remaining works, the Virgin is shown with her hands clasped together in prayer, and with a veil covering her head; in two of the works she looks downward, conveying a sense of interiority and contemplation, whereas in the third she directly addresses the viewer with her gaze.

Originally all four canvases were believed to have been executed by Giovanni Battista Salvi, known as Sassoferrato. During the conservation treatment, it became apparent that the pictorial technique in the first of the four Madonnas was consistent with that of Luca Giordano, suggesting that he was instead the author of the work; comparison to his altarpiece depicting the Assumption of the Virgin for the same church reveals striking similarities.

Each of the four paintings had undergone a re-lining treatment towards the beginning of the 1900s. The paste and canvas used in the re-lining were not ideal for paintings of such a small scale, thus each of the works had become stiff and brittle, and they were poorly tensioned. Oxidixed varnishes, heavy overpainting, and a thick layer of surface grime were distorting the legibility of the pictorial surface. The gilded frames of the four paintings had become dull from surface deposits and were suffering from small cracks and surface losses.

The four paintings and their frames underwent conservation treament individually from October 2018 through May 2019. Conservator Valentina Piovan carefully removed the precarious additional canvases added in the early 1900s and replaced them with more suitable canvas linings and re-tensioned each painting. After conducting a serious of cleaning trials, Valentina methodically removed the surface grime, oxidized varnishes, and unsightly overpainting from the surface of each work. The gilded frames were also cleaned and any cracks or losses in the gilding were filled.

Conservation treatment revealed that the first of the four depictions of the Madonna was not done by the hand of Sassoferrato, but instead could be attributed to Luca Giordano. Conservation treatment also revealed a much brighter color palette and refined details. A final protective varnish was applied to the surface of each painting and the works were reinstalled in the sacristy of the Basilica della Salute.

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.

Luca Giordano (1634–1705) [attr.]
Votive Madonna
Mid-17th century, oil on canvas; gilded wooden frame

Giovanni Battista Salvi, called Sassoferrato (1609–1685)
Madonna in Prayer (three versions)
Mid-17th century, oil on canvas; gilded wooden frames