Save Venice and the Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore – ETS branch are pleased to announce the completion of the restoration of Jacopo Tintoretto’s The Last Supper and The Israelites in the Desert. The conservation work, carried out from February 2025 through April 2026, was made possible with generous support from The Stracke Family. The two monumental canvases – each measuring 370 x 570 cm – have been reinstalled in the basilica’s presbytery. A press conference will be held at the basilica on Tuesday, April 21, 2026 at 11:00am and a public inauguration will take place on Friday, May 8, 2026.

The Benedictine community provided the use of the basilica’s sacristy for the temporary restoration space, allowing visitors to observe the process through an educational “open worksite.” The project was overseen by officials from the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the Metropolitan City of Venice. Conservation work was conducted by the CBC Conservazione Beni Culturali firm under the direction of Caterina Barnaba. Matteo De Fina led the photographic documentation, Maco Film produced video documentation, S.T.Art-Test of S. Schiavone & C. sas. conducted non-invasive diagnostics, while UnisVe managed the movement and logistics.

This intervention marks an important milestone in the care of these masterpieces, whose last recorded restoration dates back to 1937. The treatment has revived the paintings’ clarity and depth, allowing Tintoretto’s nuanced tonal range and dynamic brushwork to re-emerge. The careful removal of yellowed varnish and discolored overpainting revealed details long hidden beneath later additions. As the work progressed, colors regained their vibrancy, tonal passages became legible again, and the compositions recovered a renewed sense of balance and cohesion.