Conservation campaign made possible with generous support from The Thompson Family Foundation, Inc.,  proceeds from Un Ballo in Maschera 2016, Thomas Schumacher and Matthew White, The California Chapter of Save Venice, The James R. Dougherty, Jr. Foundation, and Dolce & Gabbana

Carpaccio painted this splendid cycle of nine paintings for the chapel of the Scuola di Sant’Orsola in the last decade of the Quattrocento. The painter drew inspiration for the program from the Golden Legend of Jacopo da Varagine, which recounts the life story of Ursula, a mythic princess, bride, pilgrim, and Christian martyr of the 4th century. Carpaccio chose to set the scenes from her life in an updated context that reflects both contemporary theatrical imagery and the continued threat posed by the Turks against Venice and Christian Europe. The commission may have been initiated by members of the noble Loredan family, who had been associated with the Scuola since the fourteenth century and were celebrated for their valor in the wars against the Turks.

Like the other Venetian confraternities, the Scuola di Sant’Orsola was suppressed by Napoleonic decree in 1806; the paintings were removed on October 10th, 1808, and put on view in the Gallerie dell’Accademia in 1828. However, it wasn’t until 1895 that they were displayed as a unified cycle. Since that time, the style and the order in which they were displayed have been modified several times, most notably in the 1920s and again in 1947 according to the design of Carlo Scarpa, which is essentially the display design we see today.

The current installation, an arrangement that is still the subject of debate, was intended to recreate the order in which the canvases originally hung along the walls of the chapel. Even John Ruskin became completely enamored, declaring after a visit to the Gallerie in 1878: “I went crazy about Saint Ursula.”

Prior to their recent conservation treatment, the nine canvases were covered with altered varnish, glues, and retouching in oil that gave the paintings a predominantly green or yellow tone. Due to partial cleaning in the past, these non-original materials created an uneven appearance to the individual artworks as well as compromised the unity of the entire cycle.

Additional elements of discontinuity were caused by the varying state of conservation of each painting. Several canvases suffered water damage while in their original position on the north wall of the Scuola (Arrival of the pilgrims in Rome, The Dream of Saint Ursula, The Arrival in Cologne, and Martyrdom of the Pilgrims and the Funeral of Saint Ursula), and underwent numerous restorations in the past. The first conservation treatment took place while Vittore Carpaccio was still alive, and continued with one or two treatments every century. These numerous restoration attempts created further damage caused by incompatible techniques and materials.

The main objective of the extensive recent conservation treatment was to give the canvases a correct aesthetic reading and concentrate on reestablishing balance and harmony in each painting. Pictorial restoration included cleaning, filling of losses, in-painting, and varnishing. The back of the canvases did not need intervention because the linings and wooden stretchers from Ottorino Nonfarmale’s work in the 1980s were still efficient.

In 2010, a preliminary research and diagnostic analysis campaign was conducted by the Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione e il Restauro and the Laboratorio Scientifico delle Gallerie. These studies guided the conservation and provided new information on Carpaccio’s painting technique. In 2013, a “pilot” restoration began with The Arrival in Cologne.

With the closing of the Saint Ursula room in August 2016, conservation of the rest of the cycle began. Work on seven paintings was performed on site to avoid rolling the canvases for their removal from the gallery. The Conservazione Beni Culturali cooperative and the Egidio Arlango firm undertook this treatment with consultation from Paolo Cremonesi to determine cleaning protocols. The restoration of the Apotheosis di Saint Ursula, which started as part of the ISCR’s educational activities, was completed by the CBArt firm.

Extensive scientific investigations including infrared photography revealed underdrawings and led to a better understanding of the artists working methods which in turn aided in determining how best to preserve the delicate paintings. In total, conservators treated more than 87 square meters of painted canvas and averaged 250 hours of work per each square meter. The reinstallation of the splendidly restored paintings was celebrated in June 2019.

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.

The cycle illustrates the story of Ursula, the daughter of a Christian king who was reluctantly promised in marriage to a pagan prince, and captivates viewers with its dramatic narration of the betrothal. The story culminates in the martyrdom of the doomed princess in Cologne at the hand of the Huns during her return from her pilgrimage to Rome.

The paintings are realistic, eyewitness-style portrayals in which Carpaccio created an idealized world of faraway places that are nonetheless filled with details familiar to Venice— the typical altana roof decks, funnel-shaped chimneys, loggias, shipyards, and a recognizable cast of Venetian characters.

Vittore Carpaccio (c. 1465 – c. 1526)
Arrival of the Ambassadors
c. 1496-1498, tempera and oil on canvas
278 x 589 cm

Vittore Carpaccio (c. 1465 – c. 1526)
Departure of the Ambassadors
c. 1496-1498, tempera and oil on canvas
281 x 252 cm

Vittore Carpaccio (c. 1465 – c. 1526)
Return of the Ambassadors
c. 1496-1498, tempera and oil on canvas
297 x 526 cm

Vittore Carpaccio (c. 1465 – c. 1526)
Leavetaking of the Betrothed Pair
1495, tempera and oil on canvas
279 x 610 cm

Vittore Carpaccio (c. 1465 – c. 1526)
Dream of Saint Ursula
1495, tempera and oil on canvas
273 x 267 cm

Vittore Carpaccio (c. 1465 – c. 1526)
Arrival of the Pilgrims in Rome
c. 1493-1495, tempera and oil on canvas
279 x 305 cm

Vittore Carpaccio (c. 1465 – c. 1526)
Arrival in Cologne
1490, tempera and oil on canvas
280 x 255 cm

Vittore Carpaccio (c. 1465 – c. 1526)
Martyrdom of the Pilgrims and Funeral of Saint Ursula
1493, tempera and oil on canvas
271 x 560 cm

Vittore Carpaccio (c. 1465 – c. 1526) [and workshop]
Apotheosis of Saint Ursula
1491, tempera and oil on canvas
481 x 335 cm

ARTE.IT
CORRIERE DEL VENETO
FINESTRE SULL’ARTE
2019 Italian Press Release (Gallerie dell’Accademia)
The Science of Restoring Vittore Carpaccio’s Saint Ursula Cycle

Conservators
Arrival of the Ambassadors, The Martyrdom and Funeral of Ursula, The Pilgrims Meet Pope Cyriacus, and Dream of Saint Ursula
C.B.C. Conservazione Beni Culturali: Caterina Barnaba, Rosanna Coppola, Giovanna Martelotti, and Lucia Tito

Departure of the Ambassadors, Return of the Ambassadors, and Meeting of Ursula and the Prince
ARLANGO di Egidio Arlango: Egidio Arlango, Elisabetta Pinton, and Jasmine Segalin

Arrival in Cologne
Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro (ISCR)

Apotheosis of Saint Ursula
Consorzio C.B.Art.

Project Direction
Giulio Manieri Elia, Project Director
Alfeo Michieletto, Technical Director

Scientific Analysis and Diagnostic Imaging
Paolo Cremonesi, Ornella Salvadori, Davide Bussolari, Enrico Fiorin, and Serena Bidorini 

Worksite Setup and Logistics
UNISVE, Guido Jaccarino, Federico Marcato, Gino Feltrin, Spazioluce, Gruppo Fallani, Carla Calisi, Roberto Geromin, Egidio Arlango, and Lucia Tito

Photographic Documentation, Video, and Graphics
Matteo De Fina, C.P.T. Studio s.r.l., Diana Ziliotto, Mirko Micozzi, and Leslie Contarini

Didactic Signage and Translation
Paola Benussi, Giulio Manieri Elia, Michele Nicolaci, Melissa Conn, and Leslie Contarini

Gallerie dell’Accademia: Homepage

Gallerie dell’Accademia: Link to the Works

Fortini Brown, Patricia. Venetian Narrative Painting in the Age of Carpaccio. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988

Gallo, Rodolfo. La Scuola di Sant’Orsola, i teleri di Carpaccio e la tomba di Gentile e Giovanni Bellini. “Bollettino dei Musei Civici Veneziani,” 2-3, VIII, (1963): 1-24

Matino, Gabriele and Patricia Fortini Brown, eds. Carpaccio in Venice: A Guide. Venice: Marsilio, 2020

Nepi Scirè, Giovanna. Carpaccio. Storie di Sant’Orsola. Milan: Electa, 2000

Renosto, Renato. La Cappella di S. Orsola a Venezia. “Bollettino dei Musei Civici Veneziani,” 2-3, VIII (1963): 37-50

Rodini, Elizabeth. “The Politics of Marriage in Carpaccio’s St. Ursula Cycle.” Early Modern Women, 8 (2013): 85-117

de Voragine, Jacobus. The Golden Legend: Readings on the Saints. William G. Ryan, trans. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2 vols.

Zorzi, Ludovico. Carpaccio e la rappresentazione di Sant’Orsola. Ricerche sulla visualità dello spettacolo nel Quattrocento. Turin: Einaudi, 1988