WORKS OF ART IN VENICE: THE UNMISSABLE MASTERPIECES

Which are the works of art in Venice you can’t miss?
In this post I made a list of unmissable masterpieces which will make you discover the city, its museums, its palaces and things to see in Venice.

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The unmissable works of art in Venice you can’t miss

Giorgione, the Tempest – Gallerie dell’Accademia of Venice

THE TEMPEST BY GIORGIONE

The Gallerie dell’Accademia of Venice houses several artworks but the most fascinating and mysterious is certainly the Tempest by Giorgione.
Although many scholars have tried to interpret the painting, you can’t understand what it depicts exactly and some, in fact, think that it simply portrays a landscape with a tempest which is approaching threateningly.

DAEDALUS AND ICARUS BY ANTONIO CANOVA

Among the works of art in Venice you can’t miss there’s the most beautiful among the early sculptures by Canova, made when the artist was only 27 and which is on exhibition at the Museo Correr.
Thanks the money he earned with this commission, Canova went to Rome to admire at a short distance the classical artworks and complete his artistic training.
For further information about this work and its story, read the post I dedicated to Daedalus and Icarus by Antonio Canova.

THE CYCLE OF FRESCOES BY TINTORETTO AT THE SCUOLA GRANDE DI SAN ROCCO

The Scuola Grande di San Rocco houses the largest and most important cycle of paintings in Venice.
Painted by Tintoretto within more than 20 years, the first painting is a tondo depicting “Saint Roch in Glory” (1564), donated by Tintoretto himself as a sign of devotion.

Tintoretto, Saint Roch in Glory – Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Venice.

PRESENTATION AT THE TEMPLE BY GIOVANNI BELLINI

Among the works of art in Venice to see a painting by Giovanni Bellini can’t be missing: the “Presentation at the Temple” (around 1460). It is housed in the Fondazione Querini Stampalia and is identical to a painting painted by Andrea Mantegna in the same period. The scene takes place inside a marble frame, used by the main characters to lean on and which creates a filter between the real space and the painted space.

PESARO MADONNA BY TIZIANO

In the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice is a large altarpiece commissioned to Titian by Jacopo Pesaro in 1518.
It’s a celebration of the client, who appears while he’s on his knees in front of the Virgin Mary, but is also an amazing group of portraits of the Pesaro family.
The most beautiful one?
A boy on lower right, who looks out the painting. He’s Antonio, Jacopo’s son, heir of the family.

NEPTUNE OFFERING GIFTS TO VENICE

Giambattista Tiepolo between 1740 and 1745 painted a painting which celebrates Venice, portrayed as a wealthy lady, while receiving some gifts from god Neptune, next to the Lion of Saint Mark, symbol of the city.
The work is housed in the Doge’s Palace in Venice.

Giambattista Tiepolo -Neptune offering gifts to Venice- 1745-50