Save Venice is seeking sponsors for the conservation of Jacopo and Domenico Tintoretto’s Christ Appearing to Saints Giustina and Francis of Paola and Altar in the Church of Santa Maria del Giglio.

*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.

Still in its original stone altar after almost five hundred years, the altarpiece depicting Christ Appearing to Saints Giustina and Francis of Paola was commissioned from Jacopo Tintoretto around 1580, although it was most likely completed by his young son Domenico following the master’s design.

Christ descends in glory amid swirling clouds and angels, holding the banner of the Resurrection as he reveals himself to the two saints below. Saint Giustina, identified by her traditional attribute—the dagger with which she was martyred—looks upward in devotion, while Saint Francis of Paola, founder of the Minims, receives the divine vision with quiet reverence. Between them stretches a tranquil seascape punctuated by a Venetian warship—an understated yet highly significant detail that anchors the painting in a specific historical moment.

That solitary vessel provides the key to the altarpiece’s deeper meaning. Created for the Duodo family altar, the painting is also a subtle memorial to Francesco Duodo, whose distinguished military career reached its pinnacle at the Battle of Lepanto on 7 October 1571. As Capitano delle Galere, commanding the heavy galleons at the center of the Christian fleet, he played a decisive role in the victory over the Ottoman navy. Rather than commemorating his patron through an overt portrait or inscription, Tintoretto wove Duodo’s achievements into the sacred narrative itself. The warship alludes to his naval command, while Saint Francis of Paola—the altar’s patron saint—is widely believed to bear the admiral’s features.

This identification is strengthened by a group of surviving portraits. Alessandro Vittoria’s celebrated likeness of Duodo survives both as a terracotta model in the Museo Correr and as the finished marble bust in the Museo Franchetti at Ca’ d’Oro. Painted portraits likewise establish a consistent iconography, frequently depicting him before a warship to commemorate his appointments as Captain of Brescia and, later, Procurator of Saint Mark. Seen in this context, Tintoretto’s transformation of the Venetian commander into Saint Francis was not an isolated conceit but a sophisticated extension of an already familiar visual language.

The choice of Saint Giustina adds a further layer of meaning. Lepanto was fought and won on her feast day, and throughout the Venetian Republic the victory came to be understood as the result of her heavenly intercession no less than of Venetian military prowess. By pairing her with Saint Francis of Paola—subtly endowed with Francesco Duodo’s likeness—the altarpiece fuses sacred history, dynastic commemoration, and civic memory. The painting thus presents Venice’s greatest naval triumph not simply as a military achievement, but as the visible manifestation of divine providence working through the Republic and its faithful servants.

The altar itself completes this carefully constructed program of remembrance. The Duodo coat of arms—a shield crossed by a diagonal band bearing three fleurs-de-lis—proclaims the family’s enduring association with the chapel. Francesco Duodo’s will further reveals that Vittoria’s portrait bust, now in the Museo Franchetti at Ca’ d’Oro, was originally intended to stand above the altar alongside the flags commemorating his military victories, although this final tribute was never realized. Even without the sculpture, the ensemble eloquently preserves Duodo’s legacy through heraldry, portraiture, and sacred imagery, uniting personal remembrance, civic honor, and religious devotion in a single, remarkably sophisticated work of art.

Altarpiece

The altarpiece is obscured by layers of oxidized varnish, accumulated surface dirt, and atmospheric deposits that have altered the original tonal balance and reduced the depth and clarity of the composition. Previous conservation campaigns have also left areas of discolored overpaint that no longer blend with the original surface and disturb the overall image.

Conservation will begin with a thorough technical examination, followed by the careful removal of surface deposits and degraded varnish. Discolored restoration materials and old overpaint will be reduced where appropriate. The treatment will conclude with the retouching of losses using reversible conservation materials and the application of a new protective varnish.

Altar

The marble altar shows signs of deterioration caused by long-term exposure, particularly in its lower sections, where rising damp has led to salt deposits, localized stone decay, and surface weakening. Accumulated dirt, moisture staining, and earlier repairs have further affected both its appearance and long-term stability.

Conservation will include cleaning of the marble, the removal of harmful salts, consolidation of weakened areas, and the treatment of earlier repairs where necessary. Losses and open joints will be treated using compatible conservation materials. Together, these interventions will restore the altar’s structural integrity and visual appearance while ensuring its long-term preservation.

Jacopo Tintoretto (ca. 1518/19 – 1594)
Domenico Tintoretto (1560 – 1635)
Christ Appearing to Saints Giustina and Francis of Paola
1581-1582, oil on canvas
275 x 138 cm

Unknown Artist (16th century)
Altar
16th century, stone and marble
750 x 370 cm

Bacchi, Andrea, Lia Camerlengo, and Manfred Leithe-Jasper (eds.). “La Bellissima maniera.” Alessandro Vittoria e la scultura veneta del Cinquecento. Exhibition catalogue (Trento, Castello del Buonconsiglio, 25 June – 26 September 1999). Trento: Provincia autonoma di Trento, 1999, pp. 300-301 no. 59

Ilchman, Frederick. A Rediscovered Late Portrait by Titian. In Rembrandt and the Venetian Influence. Exhbition catalogue (New York, Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, 3 October – 18 November 2000). New York: Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, 2000, pp. 23-27

Martin, Thomas. “Grimani Patronage in S. Giuseppe di Castello: Veronese, Vittoria and Smeraldi.” The Burlington Magazine, 133, 1065 (1991), pp. 825-833

Pallucchini, Rodolfo and Paola Rossi. Tintoretto. Le opere sacre e profane. Milan: Alfieri Gruppo Editoriale Electa, 1982, p. 254 no. A113