Restored in 2000 with funding from Stephen T. Kelly.

Giuseppe Porta Salviati’s Resurrected Christ with Saints and Donors is presently displayed inside the Chapel of the Trinity at Santi Giovanni e Paolo, directly above the confessional; it may have been an altarpiece originally. The painting features the risen Christ in the background, two donor figures in the background at the upper left, and Saints Peter, John the Baptist, James, and Mark in the foreground.

The figures display the grand gestures and elegant poses that were a hallmark of Salviati’s style. Peter, dressed in yellow and blue, turns his body slowly; he gestures toward Mark, who is seated below him, holding his pen in hand as he works on his Gospel. Saint James is seated behind Mark, and holds his pilgrim’s staff, whereas John the Baptist points upward toward Christ in his characteristic gesture. The restoration of the work revealed the original intensity of the painter’s brilliant color palette, notable for its pale pinks and rich gold pigments.

The painting was restored by conservator Marco Volpin, 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.

Giuseppe Porta, called Salviati (c. 1520–1575)
Resurrected Christ with Saints and Donors
1550s, oil on canvas
233 x 159 cm

McTavish, David. Giuseppe Porta Called Giuseppe Salviati. New York: Garland Publishing, 1981.