Restored in 1997 with funding from Peter and Bonnie Sacerdote and friends.

Titian was commissioned to create this painting of the Transfiguration of Christ as a cover for the famous silver reredos (altar screen) on the high altar of the church of San Salvador. The silver reredos was only revealed on the most important days of the liturgical calendar, including Christmas, Easter, and the Transfiguration on August 6, which was the patronal feast day of the church. On all other days, Titian’s painting would have been visible, functioning as the high altarpiece.

The Transfiguration constitutes a pivotal moment in the life of Christ, in which his divinity is acknowledged. Having ascended Mount Tabor with the apostles Peter, James, and John, Christ is suddenly transfigured: his face is illuminated by a brilliant light, and his garments turn white, starkly contrasting with the surrounding deep shadows. The prophets Elijah and Moses speak with Christ in an apparition as the apostles look on in awe, their bodies dramatically foreshortened in the foreground. This episode takes place at the threshold between heaven and earth and, similarly, highlights Christ’s status as both divine and human. Titian was always aware of conceiving an image in terms of its own environment; the Transfiguration is probably one of his most dramatic coups de théâtre.

On high feast days, Titian’s painting was lowered into the base of the altar through a pulley system, revealing the magnificent silver altar screen to the eyes of churchgoers. Through the centuries, the canvas suffered greatly from this rough use and had been grossly over-painted to hide the damage inflicted. This inpainting was removed during the restoration campaign, revealing a splendid Titian with all the dramatic, expressive characteristics of the master’s late work.

The restoration was undertaken by conservator Ottorino Nonfarmale, 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.

Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) (c. 1488/90–1576)
Transfiguration of Christ
c. 1560, oil on canvas
245 x 295 cm

Bohde, Daniela. “Titian’s Three-Altar Project in the Venetian Church of San Salvador: Strategies of Self-Representation by Members of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco.” Renaissance Studies 15, no. 4 (December 2001): 450-472.

Rosand, David. Titian. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1978.