Restoration completed in 2005 with funding from an anonymous donor in honor of Frederick Ilchman.

Domenico Tintoretto’s painting of the Transport of the Body of St. Mark shows two courageous Venetians, Rustico da Torcello and Bono da Malamocco, in the act of bringing Saint Mark’s shrouded body to a Venetian ship docked in the harbor of Alexandria.

Mark, who was martyred in 62 CE, was initially buried in Egypt in a church that was dedicated to him. In 828, fearing that the precious relics of the saint were in danger after hearing rumors that the Arab governor of Alexandria intended to destroy Mark’s sanctuary — and, of course, desiring to bring greater prestige to Venice — the two Venetian merchants convinced the custodians of the church of Saint Mark in Alexandria to allow them to secretly transport the saint’s body to Venice.

The first church built in Venice to house the body of the saint was constructed between 829 and 832, thus fulfilling Mark’s vision that his body would find eternal repose and veneration in the lagoon city.

The work was restored by conservator Andrea Libralesso, with the guidance of project director Luca Caburlotto 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.

Domenico Tintoretto (c. 1560-1635)
Transport of the Body of Saint Mark
c. 1590, oil on canvas
210 x 375 cm

Scuola Grande di San Marco: Historical Introduction

Scuola Grande di San Marco: Images of the Rooms of the Scuola

Dalla Costa, Thomas, Robert Echols, and Frederick Ilchman, eds. Tintoretto in Venice: A Guide. Venice: Marsilio, 2018.

Echols, Robert and Frederick Ilchman. Tintoretto: Artist of Renaissance Venice. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2018.

Matino, Gabriele and Cynthia Klestinec, eds. Art, Faith and Medicine in Tintoretto’s Venice. Venice: Marsilio, 2018.