Restored in 1980 with Save Venice general funds.

Although the attribution of this painting of the Resurrection of Christ is uncertain, it may be the work of Giovanni da Asola — a painter from Brescia who was active in Venice from around 1512 to 1531 — with the possible assistance of his son Bernardino. The work is believed to have been painted for Santa Ternita, a church located near San Francesco della Vigna that was closed after the fall of the Venetian Republic and torn down in the nineteenth century.

In this scene, Jesus emerges from his tomb in the midst of a lyrical landscape that recalls the Veneto countryside. He gives the sign of blessing with his right hand while holding a banner with the Crusader’s cross (also known as the Jerusalem cross) in his left. Five soldiers sit on the ground around the tomb, apparently asleep and unaware of the risen Christ. The glowing atmospheric effect throughout the painting is typical of contemporary landscape painting in Venice, inspired by the example of Giovanni Bellini and further developed by Giorgione, Sebastiano del Piombo, and Titian.

The painting was restored by conservators Serafino and Ferruccio 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.

Giovanni da Asola (c. 1480–1531) [attr.]
Resurrection of Christ
1516, tempera on wood panel
208 x 276 cm