Restoration of the Bernabò Chapel and cleaning of the altarpiece in 2004 with funding from The James R. Dougherty, Jr. Foundation, through Beatrice Rossi-Landi, Trustee and the Oceanic Heritage Foundation; restoration of the altarpiece in 1981 through Save Venice general funds.

When the silk merchant Jacopo Bernabò died in 1438, he left some of his fortune to the Scuola Grande della Misericordia in his will, requesting that the scuola commission his burial chapel inside the church of San Giovanni Crisostomo. In 1475, that chapel was lost in the fire that destroyed the church. As the architect Mauro Codussi finished rebuilding the church between 1497 and 1504, the Scuola Grande della Misericordia asked Tullio and Pietro Lombardo to create a new chapel for Bernabò. From 1499 to 1501, Tullio Lombardo decorated this new chapel with an ambitious design that incorporated expensive marbles and rendered the architecture of the entire chapel as a frame for the relief sculpture altarpiece depicting the Coronation of the Virgin with Apostles.

Tullio Lombardo completed this magnificent altarpiece for the Bernabò Chapel between 1500 and 1502. The relief consists of two large marble slabs; the upper slab depicts God the Father and the Holy Spirit surrounded by angels, while the lower one depicts Christ crowning the Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven, surrounded by the Twelve Apostles. This truly extraordinary marble relief exhibits an unusual refinement of details, particularly apparent in the expressive figure of the Virgin.

Tullio was clearly inspired by ancient Roman sculptural reliefs. This is particularly evident in the frieze-like arrangement of the figures and the use of isocephaly — the alignment of the heads of the figures at the same level. Set against and not within the background field, a characteristic commonly found on an imperial Roman sarcophagus or triumphal arch, the figures project forward over the bottom ledge of the relief, extending into the space of the observer. The detail in the draperies and the individualized faces of the figures demonstrate Tullio’s skills and mastery. The influence of ancient classical art can also be seen in the way Tullio signed his name in Latin, using Roman lettering, under the feet of Christ: “TVLLII LOMBARDI OPVS,” “the work of Tullio Lombarod.”

Although this classically-inspired relief ranks as one of the true High Renaissance masterpieces of Venice, its creator also considered the strong Byzantine associations of San Giovanni Crisostomo. The relief also recalls a mosaic in the Basilica di San Marco that depicts the Twelve Apostles. Tullio Lombardo’s ability to combine traditional Venetian icons with the new style of the Renaissance made him one of the most sought after sculptors of his time. Through such a combination of cultural allusion, to classical Rome and to Byzantine models, Tullio created a work that speaks to the special position of Venice, self-proclaimed successor to both empires of the past, pagan and Christian. Indeed, the very form of the church of San Giovanni Crisostomo, a Greek cross with a central dome, attests to a Byzantine revival in Venice in the late fifteenth century.

The chapel was restored by conservators from the Co. New Tech restoration firm, with the guidance of project director Annalisa Bristot of the Superintendency of Fine Arts of Venice; the previous 1981 restoration of Tullio Lombardo’s altarpiece was overseen by project director P.L. Fantelli.

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.

Tullio Lombardo (c. 1455–1532)

Bernabò Chapel
1499-1501, marble and Istrian stone

Coronation of the Virgin with Apostles
1500-1502, marble
385 x 200 cm

Ralph Lieberman, “Some Family Chapels in Renaissance Venice” (2001)

Markham Schulz, Anne. The Sculpture of Tullio Lombardo. London: Harvey Miller Publishers, 2014.