The 1978 conservation was made possible with funding from Franklin H. Kissner and Harold D. Vursell in memory of Ruth Washburn.

Upon the election of a new doge, his portrait and a votive picture were commissioned to be displayed in the Doge’s Palace. Quite unusually, the votive picture of Doge Antonio Grimani (reigned 1521–1523) was only commissioned on 12 March 1555, some thirty years after the death of this not particularly popular doge. Titian was notorious for taking his time in completing projects, and the canvas remained unfinished in his workshop when he died in 1576—fortunately so, this procrastination saved the work from destruction in the fires that ravaged the Doge’s Palace in 1574 and 1577.

Doge Grimani, personifying the Republic, is depicted kneeling and gazing piously toward the figure of Faith; she holds the Eucharistic chalice and a cross as she descends from heaven, surrounded by a host of putti and a burst of clouds and brilliant light. Saint Mark, clearly identified by his lion and holding a book that represents his gospel, stands as an intercessor on behalf of Venice. A view of the city itself, centered upon the bell tower of the Piazza San Marco, is visible along the very low horizon line of the composition, beneath the celestial apparition.

While Titian was undoubtedly responsible for the execution of the core of the composition, X-ray examination, pigment analysis, and cleaning trials have indicated that Marco Vecellio, the master’s nephew and assistant, was likely responsible for painting the curtains on the sides of the canvas and the two separate figures of a Prophet (left) and Standard Bearer (right) that have been added on either side of the original canvas. This hypothesis has recently been confirmed by archival evidence. A document dated 6 March 1593 and uncovered at the Biblioteca del Museo Correr, Venice, demonstrates that it was indeed Marco Vecellio who finished Titian’s painting, for which he received a final payment of 20 ducats. This new evidence shows that it could not be doge Marino Grimani (reigned 1595–1605) who decided to include the painting in the cycle of the Sala delle Quattro Porte, as previously believed. Another, more ‘qualified’ candidate might be Almorò Grimani, brother of Marino, who in 1593 served as Superintendent of the building (Provveditore sopra la fabbrica) at the Palazzo Ducale.

The 1978 conservation treatment was undertaken by 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.

Titian (c. 1488/90–1576) and Marco Vecellio (1545–1611)
Votive Picture of Doge Antonio Grimani, known as “La Fede”
1555-1593, oil on canvas
375 x 814 cm
Sala delle Quattro Porte, Palazzo Ducale

Palazzo Ducale: Homepage

Delorenzi, Paolo. Le carte del Provveditore. Nuovi documenti sulla decorazione tardo-cinquecentesca del Palazzo Ducale di Venezia. In Marinelli, Sergio, ed. Aldèbaran III. Storia dell’Arte. Verona: Scripta edizioni, 2015, pp. 109-150. Link to the article

Humfrey, Peter. Titian: The Complete Paintings. Ghent: Ludion Press, 2007

Wolters, Wolfgang. Storia e politica nei dipinti di Palazzo Ducale. Venice: Arsenale Editrice, 1987