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Design for the altarpiece in the Scuola Grande di San Marco, Venice

Drawing
Before 1614
Artist/Maker
Giovane, Palma (artist)
Place of origin
Venice

This is a desig for the high altar painted in 1614 for the Scuola Grande di San Marco in Venice. Jacopo Palma il Giovane took over the commission after Domenico Tintoretto failed to produce an altarpiece on time. A Venice cityscape fills the canvas beneath the saints, offering a view of Venice as it looked in 1614. The composition follows the great tradition of Venitian painting characterised by a strong sense of perspective and colour, and well exemplified by Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto, and Jacopo's great uncle, Palma il Vecchio.


Object details

Categories
Drawings
Designs
Object type
Drawing
TitleDesign for the altarpiece in the Scuola Grande di San Marco, Venice
Materials and techniques
Pen and ink, and wash on paper, squared for transfer
Pen
Ink
Paper
Drawing
Wash Technique
Squaring (Transferring Technique)
Brief description
Palma, Jacopo (il giovane); Design for the altarpiece in the Scuola Grande di San Marco, Venice, Italy, before 1614
Physical description
Design for an altar piece; Jesus Christ descending, accompanied by angels, and appearing to Sts. Mark, Peter and Paul; Pen and ink and wash, squared for transfer.
Dimensions
  • Drawing, with gold border height: 427mm
  • Drawing, with gold border width: 270mm
  • Sheet with wash lines on which drawing is pasted height: 473mm
  • Sheet with wash lines on which drawing is pasted width: 335mm
Dimensions taken from: DYCE COLLECTION. A Catalogue of the Paintings, Miniatures, Drawings, Engravings, Rings and Miscellaneous Objects Bequeathed by The Reverend Alexander Dyce. London : South Kensington Museum, 1874: 15.9 x 10.1 inches (Original measurements converted from fractional inches into decimal inches (rounded to one decimal place).
Style
Venetian School
Credit line
Bequeathed by Rev. Alexander Dyce
Object history
William Esdaile (Lugt 2617; sale, Christie's 20 June 1840, lot 440); Rev. A. Dyce, by whom bequeathed in 1869.
Subjects depicted
Angels
Jesus Christ
St Jerome
Saint Mark
Saint Peter
Saint Paul
Association
Venice
Summary
This is a desig for the high altar painted in 1614 for the Scuola Grande di San Marco in Venice. Jacopo Palma il Giovane took over the commission after Domenico Tintoretto failed to produce an altarpiece on time. A Venice cityscape fills the canvas beneath the saints, offering a view of Venice as it looked in 1614. The composition follows the great tradition of Venitian painting characterised by a strong sense of perspective and colour, and well exemplified by Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto, and Jacopo's great uncle, Palma il Vecchio.
Bibliographic references
  • DYCE COLLECTION. A Catalogue of the Paintings, Miniatures, Drawings, Engravings, Rings and Miscellaneous Objects Bequeathed by The Reverend Alexander Dyce. London : South Kensington Museum, 1874.
  • Peter Ward-Jackson, Italian Drawings, vol. I: 14th-16th century, London, 1980, cat. 219, p. 108. A vision of Christ with St Mark, St John the Evangelist and St Paul in heaven above the town of Venice. Pen and ink and wash; squarend in black chalk, the divisions numbered in ink along the left and lower margins 419 x 260 mm Provenance: William Esdaile (Lugt 2617; sale, Christie's 20 June 1840, lot 440); Dyce bequest 1869 Literature: Dyce catalogue, no. 252 (as by Palma); Tietze and Tietze-Conrat, no. 992 and pl. 180,5 As Tietze and Tietze-Conrat first observed, it is a study for the altarpiece, signed and dated 1614, in the Scuola di San Marco at Venice.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
DYCE.252

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Record createdSeptember 14, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1137000/design-for-the-altarpiece-in-drawing-giovane-palma/
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