Restored in 2003 with funding from Kim Darrow and Sylvia Carter.

In this early seventeenth-century painting of the Adoration of the Cross, the mourning Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist, Mary Magdalene and a kneeling Franciscan monk gather at the foot of the cross; three out of the four figures gaze upwards in the direction of the angels who hold chalices associated with the collection of Christ’s blood. The body of Christ is notably absent, although his presence is of course implied; it is the cross itself that is the work’s devotional center.

Although once catalogued by the Correr as a work by Jacopo Bassano, as the painting includes several references to Jacopo’s work, the canvas could instead be by the hand of Girolamo Bassano, the youngest son of the master. This work is part of the Correr Museum paintings repository, and was brought out of storage for restoration at the suggestion of former Save Venice Board member Prof. W. R. Rearick in the hope that conservation efforts would encourage renewed study.

The work was restored by conservator Maria Chiara Ceriotti of the ARKE restoration firm, with the guidance of project director Attilia Dorigato of the Correr Museum.

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.

Girolamo dal Ponte, called Girolamo Bassano (1566–1621) [attr.]
Adoration of the Cross
Early seventeenth century, oil on canvas
193 x 140 cm

Museo Correr: Homepage

Attilia Dorigato, “Correr Museum Paintings Restored in Honor of Professor W. R. Rearick” (2004)