The restoration of this painting has been sponsored by the Boston Chapter of Save Venice and an Anonymous donor.

Now held in the deposit of the Gallerie dell’Accademia, the painting originally decorated the Church of the Santissimo Salvatore, which was part of the now-demolished Ospedale degli Incurabili complex. It was likely installed after the completion of the church’s high altar in 1616. Giovanna undertook the commission at a young age, around sixteen, having received training at the workshop of Jacopo Palma il Giovane. According to Marco Boschini (1664), the painting formed part of a series of apostles decorating the upper tier of the church. This series was painted by some of the most esteemed artists of the time, including Andrea Vicentino, Domenico Tintoretto, and Jacopo Palma il Giovane himself. Giovanna’s appointment as an independent master at such a youthful age underscores the esteem in which she was held in Venice.

Garzoni’s painting vividly illustrates the influence of her master’s style during her early artistic development. A parallel can be drawn with at least two works by Palma. First, the Saint Matthew, once at the Incurabili and now at the Accademia Galleries, shares with Garzoni’s painting a comparable compositional structure, featuring a narrative scene in the background and the apostle prominently placed in the foreground. A more compelling comparison arises with Palma’s Saint Andrew and Two Donors, presently housed in the church of San Floriano, Storo (Trentino). This work highlights Garzoni’s initial emulation of Palma’s style, particularly evident in her portrayal of the human form and its placement within the pictorial space—a proficiency likely acquired during her apprenticeship. Intriguingly, both Palma and Giovanna signed their respective works on a painted stone situated in the foreground.

Following the Napoleonic suppressions, the painting was removed from the church of the Incurabili and relocated to the Accademia Galleries in 1865. Later, in 1882, it found a temporary home in the church of San Giovanni Decollato, where it decorated the ceiling among other artworks until the church underwent renovation. Presumably, the painting returned at the Accademia in the late 1950s, where it has since been kept in storage.

Giovanna Garzoni’s Saint Andrew has recently been discussed by Dr. Sheila Barker in the volume Women Artists and Artisans in Venice & the Veneto, 1400-1750. Uncovering the Female Presence edited by Tracy Cooper and published by the Amsterdam University Press. This book forms part of the Women Artists of Venice (WAV) initiative, an ambitious program of art conservation, scientific research, and scholarly exploration launched by Save Venice in 2021.

The painting is currently obscured by a thick layer of surface grime and dust. Additionally, previous restoration efforts have left heavy pictorial integrations that are chromatically altered, creating inconsistencies with the original colors. The surface varnish has oxidized over time, resulting in a yellowed appearance that further distorts the painting’s intended hues.

Giovanna Garzoni (1600 – 1670)
Saint Andrew
1616, oil on canvas
158 x 115 cm
Gallerie dell’Accademia

Aikema, Bernard and Dulcia Meijers. Nel regno dei poveri: arte e storia dei grandi ospedali veneziani in età moderna, 1474-1797. Venice: Arsenale, 1989

Casale, Gerardo. Garzoni, Giovanna. In Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, 52. Rome: Istituto della enciclopedia italiana, 1999. Link to the article

Chini, Ezio. Opere poco note e inedite di Jacopo Palma il Giovane nel Trentino. In “Studi trentini di scienze storiche. Sezione seconda,” 59/2 (1980): 275-290

Moschini Marconi, Sandra. Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia. Opere d’arte del secolo XVI. Rome: Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato, 1962

Mulley, Elizabeth. Garzoni, Giovanna. In Gaze, Delia (ed.). Concise Dictionary of Women Artists. New York and London: Routledge, 2001, pp. 310-312