Restored in 2000 with funding from The James R. Dougherty Jr. Foundation, through Beatrice Rossi-Landi, Trustee.

The original location of these sculptures in the church of Santo Stefano is unknown, but they must have been installed inside a niche or directly against a wall because the back of each sculpture is unfinished. Saint John the Baptist, barefoot and wearing a cape over his traditional animal-hair tunic, points to his prophetic scroll preaching the coming of the Lamb of God. The Franciscan Saint Anthony of Padua holds in his left hand the book of the word of God; his right hand may have originally held a lily similar to the later one that he currently holds, which became his traditional attribute.

Jacobello and Pierpaolo dalle Masegne were brothers who maintained a very successful workshop that produced sculptures not only throughout Venice, but also in Mantua and Bologna. Their most important work still remaining in the lagoon city is the choir screen in the Basilica di San Marco.

The sculptures were restored by conservator Toto Bergamo and the Sansovino restoration firm, 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.

Jacobello and Pierpaolo dalle Masegne (active 1383–1409, 1383–1403)

Saint John the Baptist
1390-1395, Carrara marble
112 x 40 cm

Saint Anthony of Padua
1390-1395, Carrara marble
114 x 40 cm

Chorus Association: Church of Santo Stefano