Restored in 1978 with Save Venice general funds.

Following disastrous fires in the Doge’s Palace in 1574 and again in 1577, all of the painters of Venice were called upon in the effort to redecorate the damaged rooms, for these spaces represented the Republic and its history and values, both to Venetians themselves and to foreign dignitaries. Among the many local painters who contributed to this decorative campaign was Andrea Michieli, known as Vicentino, for he was originally from Vicenza; he arrived in Venice in the mid-1570s and would work closely with Jacopo Tintoretto on paintings for the Doge’s Palace. This monumental narrative canvas, painted by Vicentino for the Sala delle Quattro Porte, commemorates the arrival of King Henry III of France, who visited Venice in 1574; the lavish celebrations for the event, including the king’s ceremonial entrance on the Lido, were organized by Venetian senator Jacopo Contarini.

In this scene, Doge Alvise Mocenigo escorts the French monarch through a crowd of religious and political figures, leading him toward the church of San Nicolò al Lido, visible in the background along the right border of the scene. The space is dominated by a classical triumphal arch and an imposing loggia, parts of the temporary processional apparatus built for this ceremony by Andrea Palladio, the most prominent architect active in Venice at the time. In the lower left of the painting, gondoliers scramble to bring their formally dressed passengers to the ceremony, while those already present continue to observe the pomp and circumstance of Henry’s arrival. Following the festivities on the Lido, the doge would invite King Henry to board the Bucintoro, his richly decorated ceremonial galley, to travel toward the center of the city.

The painting was restored by conservators Serafino and Ferruccio Volpin, with the guidance of project director Giovanna Nepi Scirè 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.

Andrea Michieli, called Vicentino (c. 1542–1617)
The Entrance of King Henry III of France at San Nicolò al Lido
1593, oil on canvas
400 x 810 cm
Sala delle Quattro Porte, Palazzo Ducale

Palazzo Ducale: Homepage

Korsch, Evelyn. “Diplomatic Gifts on Henri III’s Visit to Venice in 1574.” Translated by Nicola Imrie. Studies in the Decorative Arts 15 (2007): 83-113.

Wolters, Wolfgang. The Doge’s Palace in Venice: A Tour Through Art and History. Berlin: Deutscher Kunstverlag, 2010.