The Picture Gallery of the Doge's Palace

The Doge's Palace is a treasure chest of masterpieces, and devoted custodian of the long history of the Serenissima Republic of Venice. Over the centuries, it has hosted numerous works of art that were not always linked to institutional functions. Many of these paintings once decorated rooms that were later abandoned, or came from other institutional seats, bequests or donations. Historical sources document the presence, at different times, of works signed by great masters such as Paolo Veneziano, Giovanni Bellini, Titian, Jacopo Tintoretto, Paris Bordon, Hieronymus Bosch, and many others. Although some of these masterpieces are unfortunately lost or merged into other museum collections, an important nucleus is still kept in the Doge's Palace. The first section of the book analyses the little-known but fundamental practice of acquiring and transforming the artistic heritage of the Doge's seat. A careful archival and bibliographical investigation allows us to recreate an extraordinary gallery of works dating from the 14th to the 18th century. What follows is a rich selection of high-definition images and a detailed catalogue of the works still preserved inside the Palace. Many masterpieces stand out among these, including the Pietà by Giovanni Bellini; the Ecce Homo by Quentin Metsys, a superb example of the cultural relations that the Serenissima had with the rest of Europe; the famous Lion of Saint Mark by Vittore Carpaccio as well as Giambattista Tiepolo's canvas Neptune Offering the Riches of the Sea to Venice. Allegorical compositions that, while boasting the highest aesthetic value, embody the spirit and symbolic power of the ancient Republic.