Restored in 1982 with Save Venice general funds.

This Madonna and Child sculpture had been largely overlooked when it was in the church of San Francesco della Vigna due to its numerous layers of garish paint that had drastically altered the original appearance of the work. Once this paint was removed during restoration, the original polychromy and carved detail were revealed. Described as a Madonna from Spain or from Candia (Crete) and considered to be the work of a Provençal or Catalan artist active in the early fourteenth century, this may be one of the earliest wooden sculptures of the Virgin and Child in Venice.

Documents place the sculpture in the church of Santa Giustina as of 1681, where it was considered to work miracles. Taken along with numerous other artworks to the nearby church of San Francesco della Vigna after the suppression of Santa Giustina in 1807, the sculpture eventually became part of the collection of the Museo Diocesano in the late 1980s.

The work was restored by conservator Maximilian Leuthenmayr, with the guidance of project director Sandro Sponza 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.

Unidentified Provençal/Catalan sculptor
Madonna and Child
Late thirteenth or early fourteenth century, wood
175 cm

Pinacoteca Manfrediniana–Museo Diocesano di Venezia (in Italian)