Restored in 1995 with funding from Young Friends of Save Venice.

The prolific Neapolitan artist Luca Giordano, who worked in Venice in the 1650s and 1660s, was known for combining Venetian and Southern Italian styles in his painting. His Madonna of the Carmelites and Christ Child with Souls in Purgatory was commissioned for the chapel honoring Cardinal Francesco Vendramin in the church of San Pietro di Castello, which was built as Venice’s cathedral.

At the bottom of this work, figures emphasized with chiaroscuro, the use of dramatic light and shadow, appeal to the Madonna and Child above for release from purgatory. Angels spiral around the brightly colored Madonna; two of them raise a crown above her head, proclaiming her Queen of Heaven. Mary is shown as the Madonna of the Carmelites, or Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a title that refers to her role as the patron of the Carmelite order, as well as the primary intercessor for souls in purgatory.

The restoration of the work was precipitated by a dramatic turn of events: the painting was stolen from the church in October 1994, and was found six weeks later rolled inside a packing tube in a garage in Mestre, on the mainland of Venice. When it was recovered, inspection revealed that the painting had suffered significant damage. Following the successful conclusion of the conservation of the work, it was returned to its original position in the Vendramin Chapel.

The painting was restored by conservators Walter and Valentina Piovan, 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.

Luca Giordano (1634–1705)
Madonna of the Carmelites and Christ Child with Souls in Purgatory
1653, oil on canvas
313 x 143 cm

Chorus Association: Church of San Pietro di Castello