Save Venice is seeking sponsors for the conservation of 10 Wall Paintings on the Second Floor of the Scuola Dalmata dei Santi Giorgio e Trifone | Partial Sponsorship Available.

*Published sponsorship costs are subject to change due to conservation plan modifications and fluctuations in exchange rates.

Please contact kim@savevenice.org today for more information and the latest cost estimates.

DONORS

Ex-Voto with Madonna and Child, Saint Sebastian, Saint Roch, the Portrait of Giorgio Pallavicino di Perasto, and the City of Perast painting sponsored by Patricia Fortini Brown
Saints Jerome, George, and Tryphon painting and candle holders, metal wall lamps, and bronze bas reliefs sponsored by the Associazione “Savio Benefator”
Giacomo Moranzon’s Saint George Fighting the Dragon and Wooden Altarpiece sponsored by the Boston Chapter of Save Venice
The 16th-century pastelon pavement sponsored by The Versailles Foundation, Inc. / Claude Monet-Giverny
Circle of Antonio Vivarini’s Saint George and Saint Tryphon sponsored by Valentina Piovan in Memory of Valter Piovan through the Fondazione Save Venice – ETS

The Scuola Dalmata dei Santi Giorgio e Trifone (also known as the Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni) was founded on May 19, 1451, by the so-called Schiavoni, the Dalmatian community residing in Venice. Just ten days later, on May 30, the confraternity moved into the 14th-century Oratory of Saint Catherine, a building owned by the Priory of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. The newly formed Scuola converted the ground floor into a chapel, centered around an altar dedicated to Saint George. They commissioned a narrative painting cycle from Vittore Carpaccio, which, remarkably, still remains in place over five hundred years later (currently being restored by Save Venice).

In 1551, to mark the centennial of the Scuola’s founding, the Guardian Grande, Giovanni da Lissa, initiated an ambitious campaign to renovate the building. Oversight of the project was entrusted to Giovanni de Zon, chief architect of the Venetian Arsenal, who reconfigured the interior and redesigned the façade in an elaborate style inspired by Jacopo Sansovino (restored by Save Venice in 2001-2004 and 2024).

Nearly a century later, on November 3, 1564, the then Guardian Grande, Giovanni Tintore, proposed the construction of a ceiling for the upper hall, along with wooden benches lining its perimeter. Two months later, on January 20, 1565, the Scuola resolved to borrow 200 ducats to finance the project—a loan that was fully repaid by 1570. A relief set into the frieze on the left wall, dated March 15, 1586, commemorates the completion of these renovations under the guardianship of Vettor Tromba.

Among the principal features of the room are twelve large canvas paintings positioned along the upper perimeter of the walls, executed by various 17th-century artists, including Marco Vecellio, Andrea Vicentino, and Joseph Heintz the Younger. Dating from the early 1600s through the 1660s, these works were most likely commissioned by the various leading officers of the Scuola over the course of several decades. Each canvas features one or more portraits, frequently accompanied by evocative representations of the sitters’ native cities, such as Zadar or the island of Rab, or scenes from the lives of their patron saints. In some cases, these civic and devotional themes are paired with pivotal episodes from the history of salvation, including the Annunciation and the Crucifixion, thereby enriching the spiritual resonance of the imagery.

In addition to the cycle of canvases, two panel paintings on wood—both dated 1451—survive from an earlier decorative program. Currently attributed to a workshop assistant of the Murano artist Antonio Vivarini, these painter these originally adorned the altar of the Scuola in the Church of San Giovanni al Tempio. They were subsequently relocated to the high altar of the Scuola’s ground-floor.

All of the paintings are obscured by thick layers of aged, discolored varnish and adhesive residues from previous conservation treatments, along with accumulated dust, grime, and altered inpainting. These surface coatings have significantly dulled the original colors and details. Several of the canvases have also become weakened and brittle over time, requiring relining to restore structural stability and support. Others will need targeted consolidation where the fabric has begun to detach from its stretcher or show signs of tension failure. Additional conservation issues include damage from water infiltration, surface abrasions, areas of paint loss, and active flaking—all of which pose risks to the long-term preservation of the works.

Gaspar Rem (1542-1616) [attr.]
Saints Jerome, George, and Tryphon
17th century, oil on canvas
100 x 252 cm

Cretan Painter (17th century) [attr.]
Martyrdom of a Saint Tryphon and the Portrait of Guardian Grande Mondo di Battista
1609, oil on canvas
100 x 252 cm

Antonio Vassilacchi, called Aliense (1556/57-1629) [attr.]
The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew and the Portrait of a Scuola Member
1607, oil on canvas
100 x 252 cm

Marco Vecellio (1545-1611) [attr.]
Madonna and Child with Saints George and Tryphon
1607, oil on canvas
100 x 252 cm

School of Titian (17th century) [attr.]
Crucifixion, Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle,  the Portrait of a Scuola Member, and the City of Zadar
17th century, oil on canvas
100 x 252 cm

Marco Vecellio (1545-1611) [attr.]
Madonna and Child with Saint Christopher, the City of Rab, and the Portrait of Guardian Grande Nicolò de Dominis de Arbe
1606, oil on canvas
100 x 252 cm

School of Jacopo Palma Giovane (17th century) [attr.]
Ex-Voto with Madonna and Child, Saint Sebastian, Saint Roch, the Portrait of Giorgio Pallavicino di Perasto, and the City of Perast
17th century, oil on canvas
100 x 252 cm

Unidentified Painter (17th century)
Madonna and Child with Saint Francis, Saint Dominic, and the Portrait of Two Scuola Members
17th century, oil on canvas
100 x 252 cm

Joseph Heintz the Younger (1600-1678) [attr.]
Christ, God the Father, and Madonna in Heaven among Saints with the Portrait of a Scuola Member and Naval Battle
17th century, oil on canvas
100 x 252 cm

Unidentified Painter (17th century)
Holy Trinity with Saints, the Portrait of Guardian Grande Francesco di Dionisi de’ Vecchi da Fiume and Three Scuola Members
1648, oil on canvas
100 x 252 cm

Unidentified Painter (17th century)
Annunciation and Portrait of Two Scuola Members
c. 1660s, oil on canvas
100 x 97 cm

Unidentified Painter (17th century)
Madonna of the Rosary with the Portrait of Guardian Grande Niccolò Barozzi da Lesina and a Scuola Member
1664, oil on canvas
100 x 97 cm

Circle of Antonio Vivarini (15th century) [attr.]
Saint Jerome
1451, tempera on panel
147 x 27 cm

Circle of Antonio Vivarini (15th century) [attr.]
Saint Tryphon
1451, tempera on panel
147 x 27 cm

Gear, Jennifer E. Visualizing the 1630-31 Plague Epidemic in Early Modern Venice and the Veneto. PhD dissertation, University of Michigan, 2018. Link

Perocco, Guido. Carpaccio nella Scuola di S. Giorgio degli Schiavoni. Venice: Ferdinando Ongania Editore, 1964

Rizzi, Alberto. Scritti di arte sulla Dalmazia. Venice: Scuola dalmata dei SS. Giorgio e Trifone, 2016

Trška, Tanja. Venetian Painters and Dalmatian Patrons: Minor Masters in the Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni between Collective and Individual. In Capriotti, Giuseppe, Francesca Coltrinari and Jasenka Gudelj (eds.), Visualizing Past in a Foreign Country: Schiavoni/Illyrian Confraternities and Colleges in Early Modern Italy in comparative perspective (IL CAPITALE CULTURALE Studies on the Value of Cultural Heritage Supplementi 07 / 2018), pp. 45-55. Link to the article