Restored in 2002 with partial funding from Prince Pierre d’Arenberg.

This funerary monument at the church of the Frari celebrates Venetian patrician Melchiorre Trevisan’s distinguished career as a naval commander for the Venetian Republic. While serving as commander of the galleys of Romania in 1479, he received a relic of Christ’s blood, which he donated to the Frari upon his return to Venice. As a gesture of gratitude for the precious relic, the friars ceded the chapel of Saint Michael to Trevisan and his descendants.

Trevisan died in 1500 while leading the Venetian flotilla in the war against the Turks in Cephalonia. His sons Vincenzo and Marino commissioned this tomb, which is topped by a statue of Melchiorre carved from a single block of white marble, with two pages below and to either side holding roundels with the lion of Saint Mark. The tomb itself is realized in both white and variegated marble, and its lid is decorated with a tiled fish scale-like motif.

Although the quality of the carving and the costly materials confirm the monument’s status as a major work of art, no documents exist to confirm the identity of the sculptor. Illustrious names such as Lombardo and Bregno have been proposed and rejected, and questions of attribution continue to be disputed.

The work was restored by conservator Massimo Tisato, with the guidance of project director Grazia Fumo 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 sculptor
Funerary Monument of Melchiorre Trevisan
c. 1500, marble
575 x 290 cm

Basilica dei Frari: Homepage

Chorus Association: Church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari