Restored in 1985 with Save Venice general funds.

This altarpiece is considered to be among the finest works of Girolamo Brusaferro, a Venetian painter of the Settecento who trained with Niccolò Bambini and Sebastiano Ricci. The figure of Saint James the Apostle, dressed in his pilgrim’s attire — wide-brimmed hat, walking staff, and scallop shell upon the shoulder of his mantle — dominates the composition from his elevated central position. The two male saints below are Lawrence Martyr, in his deacon’s vestments, and Francis of Sales, who is shown holding a book, perhaps in reference to his studies in law and theology. The female saint is believed to be Mary Magdalene because she holds the rudder and sail that distinctly refer to the legend of her travels with Lazarus and Martha to Provence.

The overall deeper tonalities of this work contrast with the dazzling luminosity found in the altarpiece by Francesco Fontebasso, a follower of Tiepolo, which is installed on the opposite altar in the church of San Salvador.

The work was restored by conservators Serafino and Ferruccio Volpin, with the guidance of project director Ettore Merkel 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.

Girolamo Brusaferro (1679-1745)
Altarpiece of Saints James, Lawrence, Mary Magdalene, and Francis of Sales
1729, oil on canvas
347 x 190 cm