Palma il Giovane (1548/50–1628)
Madonna and Child in Glory with the Coronation of Venice by Saint Magnus
c. 1610–1620, oil on canvas
316 x 165 cm
Church of San Geremia
Sponsored by Susan and Carter Emerson

This altarpiece was commissioned by the Venetian Senate to adorn the chapel of Saint Magnus inside the church of San Geremia. Palma il Giovane’s dramatic and colorful canvas depicts the personification of Venice being crowned by Saint Magnus in the presence of the personification of Faith, all under the protection and blessing of the Madonna and Child above, in celebration of the triumphal Serenissima worthy of eternal divine protection.

Cesare Vecellio (1521–1601) [attr.]
Portrait of a Venetian Patrician Family
c. 1555-1560, oil on canvas
113 x 180 cm
Correr Museum
Sponsored by Prof. Patricia Fortini Brown

Destined for display in the public space of a private palazzo, this group portrait celebrates the family represented and exalts its success and prosperity. Three generations are represented: the family’s elder patriarch on the left and his descendants, their wives, and their young children. Prior to the first half of the 16th century, women rarely appeared in such Venetian portraits, but here they have a prominent role, even if only to showcase the riches of their male relatives. In contrast to the dark and simple clothing of the men, the women are dressed in sumptuous shades of red, and are depicted in poses intended to draw attention to their fine jewels. The child in the center foreground holds a tray of sweets, possibly of marzipan.

Vittorio Emanuele Bressanin (1860–1941)
The Last Senate of the Republic of Venice
1887, oil on canvas
310 x 206 cm
Correr Museum

In 1887, Vittorio Emanuele Bressanin painted this depiction of Venice’s last senators as they exited their final session before the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797. The subject was perhaps inspired by Ippolito Nievo’s evocative 1867 novel Confessions of an Italian, which inspired many 19th-century artists. Bressanin exhibited this painting at the Venice Biennale where it was immediately purchased by Pompeo Gherardo Molmenti, one of the most illustrious Venetian scholars of the time.

Bernardo Strozzi (1581–1644)
Saint Roch
c. 1638-1640
78 x 67 cm
Scuola Grande di San Rocco

This depiction of Saint Roch by Bernardo Strozzi was purchased by the Scuola Grande di San Rocco in 1771 for the purpose of being displayed in the chancellery. The saint is portrayed in penitent gaze, a style characteristic of paintings destined for private devotion, which represent a significant part of the artist’s oeuvre. Strozzi’s masterful technique is also evident in the depiction of the playful and loyal dog in the lower left corner. Although this painting is a fine example of Strozzi’s work, it is inexplicably unknown to most of the experts who focus on the artist.

Giovanni Novello (active c. 1516–1522)
Mosaic of the Annunciation
1516
86.7 x 68.3 cm
Scuola Grande di San Rocco
Sponsored by Alice Z. Pannill

This exquisite 16th-century mosaic with minute glass and stone tesserae depicts the Annunciation, a subject that is strongly linked with the day of the mythical founding of Venice on March 25, 421. The Scuola Grande di San Rocco shared a strong devotion to the Annunciation. When the brethren of the Scuola erected the church of San Rocco in the late 15th and early 16th century, one of the first altars was dedicated to the Annunciation so that she would guard and protect the precious relic of their patron saint. This mosaic was originally displayed on that altar until 1733, when it was moved to the private treasury of the Scuola.
Giovanni Novello is a representative of the prestigious school of mosaicists who transposed the cartoons of important Venetian artists of the time. While only a few of his works are known, his technique was masterful and refined. Scholars believe that this mosaic was inspired from a real finished painting, rather than a cartoon, and have attributed that original work without uncertainty to Cima da Conegliano.

Four Works on Paper from the Fondazione Musei Civici Collection

Paolo Veronese (1528–1588)
Overall Scheme and Iconographic Program of the Ceiling and Frieze of the Sala del Collegio of the Palazzo Ducale
c. 1577
315 x 212 mm
Biblioteca del Museo Correr
Found among the Sagredo collection of papers in the Correr Museum Library, this drawing has proven to be an extraordinary discovery for research about the artist Paolo Veronese. Veronese’s design features the complex iconographic program of the ceiling and frieze of the Sala del Collegio in Palazzo Ducale. It serves as a testament to the freedom the artist enjoyed in executing the decorative program for such a prestigious and prominent space.

Venetian
Palazzo dei Camerlenghi, hypothesis for the fa.ade facing Naranzeria
c. 1525
365 x 540 mm
Biblioteca del Museo Correr
This drawing of one of the facades of the Palazzo Camerlenghi was recently discovered in the Correr Museum archive, and it has never been studied or publicly displayed. It is an important record of the architectural history of the Rialto area of Venice and following urgently-needed conservation treatment, it will be featured in the Venice 1600: Births and Rebirths exhibition in Palazzo Ducale.

Tomaso Meduna (1798-1880)
Project for the arched railway bridge from Campalto to Venice
c. 1830s
290 x 390 mm
Biblioteca del Museo Correr
This watercolor drawing represents one of the several studies undertaken by engineer Tomaso Meduna in regard to the 19th-century project to construct a railroad bridge connecting Venice to the mainland.

Friedrich Graetz (1842-1912)
Ironic project for the reconstruction of the bell tower of San Marco 
(table from the magazine “Der Floh”, no. 31, 1902)
1902
580 x 357 mm
Biblioteca del Museo Correr
This satirical drawing features the Basilica San Marco and bell tower in the Viennese Secession style. The drawing was submitted in response to an interview given by Otto Wagner in Il Piccolo on July 17, 1902, following the recent collapse of the San Marco bell tower in which he said “Why, then, should not even the modern style be represented in the square of Venice, since at this point the disgrace has already happened?”

Missale ad usum Sancti Marci
14th-century
340 x 252 mm
Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana
Sponsored by the Savio Benefator Cultural Association in Memory of Cesare e Bice Vivante

This exquisite 14th-century illuminated prayer book originates from Basilica San Marco. It will be displayed publicly for the first time at the Venice 1600: Births and Rebirths exhibition.  A team of conservation scientists from the Advanced Research for Cultural Heritage Laboratory (ARCH Lab) in Bucharest are now working alongside conservator Jarmila Kodric on scientific analysis to determine condition problems and investigate every aspect of the inks, pigments, dyes, binders, and fibers.

Chinese, Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368)
Vase with two handles
c. 1290-1310
Ø 17.5 x 36.2 cm
Correr Museum

This Chinese vase in the Correr Museum collection dates to the Yuan dynasty. It is covered in a celadon glaze and is adorned with a delicate low relief floral motif and two loops containing rings on the neck. Symbolically it represents Venice’s legacy as a city of merchants, and important figures like Marco Polo who traveled to the orient and brought back splendors of this kind to the Serenissima.

Venetian
Urn for Voting (Ballot box)
First half of the 16th century
45 x 44 cm
Correr Museum
Sponsored by Tina Walls and Friends

This ornate wooden box was used by the Venetian Great Council to collect votes. The word ballot originates from the Venetian dialect word “balota” meaning small ball. Carvings of a doge kneeling by Saint Mark’s winged lion and the personification of Justice seated upon two lions decorate the urn to underscore the object’s role in perpetuating Venetian democracy in a fair and just system under the protection of Saint Mark.