Restored in 2018 with Save Venice general funds.

Jacopo Tintoretto’s painting of Saint Jerome’s Vision of the Virgin Mary was originally painted for an altar on the second-floor meeting room of the Scuola di San Fantin, wealthy lay confraternity dedicated to charitable deeds, in particular, assisting the condemned. In 2018, Save Venice funded the transformational conservation of this painting on occasion of the 500th anniversary of Jacopo Tintoretto’s birth. The painting is featured in the exhibition Tintoretto 1519-1594 in Palazzo Ducale, Venice and the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

This painting depicts a penitent Saint Jerome and his vision of the ascendant Virgin Mary. Jerome is shown kneeling under a dilapidated wooden structure, a crucifix in his hand as he stares at the Virgin hovering above, supported by angels. Jerome’s faithful companion, a lion, observes the scene. A bridge in the foreground leads to a church-like structure on a cliff. The painting remains in the room for which it was painted, however the use of the surroundings has changed, and today the room serves as the library of the Ateneo Veneto, a Venetian cultural institution.

In 2018, Save Venice funded the transformational conservation of this painting on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Jacopo Tintoretto’s birth. The vibrant colors and striking details of this painting were obscured under darkened and uneven varnishes and heavy overpainting from previous restorations. These non-original surface layers were carefully removed under the guidance of from the Mauve firm and restoration chemists. Several areas of abrasions and losses, most likely caused by the partial collapse of the ceiling above the painting several centuries ago, were carefully filled, and a new coat of protective varnish was applied.

The painting still hangs in close proximity to its original installation, for the use of the space has changed: today the building is home to the Ateneo Veneto, a Venetian cultural institution, and the room in which the painting is preserved serves as the reading room of the Ateneo’s library.

The painting was featured in the exhibition Tintoretto 1519-1594 in Palazzo Ducale, Venice and the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

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.

Jacopo Tintoretto (c. 1518/19–1594)
Saint Jerome’s Vision of the Virgin Mary
c. 1580, oil on canvas
276 x 194 cm

Ateneo Veneto: Art Collection (in Italian)

Dalla Costa, Thomas, Robert Echols, and Frederick Ilchman, eds. Tintoretto in Venice: A Guide. Venice: Marsilio, 2018.