Restored in 1990 with funding from Save Venice Inc. and the Italian State.

In his will dated May 7, 1559, Antonio Cornovi, a member of one of the richest merchant families in Venice, requested to be buried in San Salvador. He commissioned Titian to paint an altarpiece of the Annunciation to be placed above the altar of his burial chapel. This choice of subject was appropriate to a funerary setting, for the Incarnation signifies the beginning of Christ’s sacrifice for humanity, and thus embodies the promise of eternal life.

Titian accentuates the Virgin’s acceptance of the will of God through her gesture: she lifts the veil from her face, here exposing her ear to receive the logos, the word of the Lord, conveyed to her by the dove of the Holy Spirit. The raising of the veil is also an ancient bridal gesture, and here it confirms the matrimonial implications of the scene, as Mary becomes the bride of God the Father.

The crystal vase below the Virgin is a traditional symbol of her perpetual virginity: as light passes through glass without breaking it, so did she conceive and yet remained intact. The inscription on the step adds a further clarification: it alludes to the burning bush of the Old Testament that was not consumed, a further symbol of Mary’s virginal purity that is represented by the flowers in the vase, whose petals resemble flickering flames.

Titian’s brush explores traditional Christian imagery with new imagination, and beautifully expresses the poetic symbolism of theology. The poet Ludovico Dolce, a dear friend of Titian, wrote that in this work, “Titian’s brush makes the flesh tremble” — a sensation that we can still experience today.

Although there is no supporting documentary evidence, the design of the stone frame and altar has been attributed to Jacopo Sansovino. The author of the fresco depicting two angels in the lunette above the sculptural frame of the altar, which was also restored during the campaign, has similarly not been identified.

The works were restored 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)
Annunciation
c. 1563-66, oil on canvas
403 x 235 cm

Jacopo Sansovino (1486–1570) [attr.]
Istrian Stone Frame and Altar

Unidentified artist
Fresco of Two Angels

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.

—. “Titian’s Light as Form and Symbol.” The Art Bulletin 57, no. 1 (March 1975): 58-64.