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Venetian Renaissance

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See also: Renaissance and High Renaissance
Venetian Renaissance
c. 14th Century – c. 17th Century
Assumption of the Virgin, Titian, 1516–1518
Monarch(s)Andrea Dandolo (1342-1354) - Francesco Foscari (1423–1457) - Leonardo Loredan (1501–1521) - Franceso Erizzo (1631–1646)
Leader(s)Titian - Tintoretto - Giorgione - Paolo Veronese - Giovanni Bellini

Venice was topographically distinct from the rest of the city-states of Renaissance Italy as a result of their geographic location which isolated the city politically, economically and culturally allowing the city the leisure to pursue the pleasures of art. The influence of Venetian art did not cease to continue at the termination of the Renaissance period. Its practices persisted through the works of art critics and artists proliferating its prominence around Europe to the 19th century.[1]

Origin

The city of Venice was first established in 809 when the Doge Angelo Participatio constructed a bridge to unite the many smaller islands that surrounded Rialto.[2] The first recordings of Venice dates back to A.D. 537-538 by the Roman officials who spotted fishermen taking residence alongside the lagoon.[3] There are a number of reasons for the proliferation of the prosperity, security and stability of Venice. Venice was uniquely segregated by the north Adriatic Sea which distinguished it from other ruling city-states of Italy enabling it to establish their stance as a prosperous city of their own. Its surrounding waters acted as the city-wall which eliminated the need to invest great sums in erecting fortifications for protection. [4]

Another factor that accounts for the growing wealth and stability of Venice was due to its close ties with the Byzantine Empire. In the 7th century, Venice was still under protection and domination of the Byzantine Empire.[5] Under the reign of Doge Pietro Osiolo II (998-1008), alliance was made with Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantium.[6] Due to the city’s obligation to defend the west of the Byzantine Empire, Venice held a firm control over the middle Adriatic, expanding their control to the southern counterparts of the Adriatic Sea.[7] In 1081 The Venetian fleets were proved to be a powerful ally rather than a subject city to the Byzantine Empire when they defeated the Normans at Durazzo.[8] The reward for their success was great. In 993, an agreement had been regulated for Venice to enjoy customs privileges in exchange for “a promise of future aid”, further extending the concession for the right to freely trade without obstruction and custom duties.[9] Largely due to its geographic location between the Mediterranean sea routes and Alpine passes, Venice took on the role as intermediaries of trade for upper class northern Europeans who wished to purchase silk and spices from the East.[10] The central location of Venice also increased merchants to stopover during the transporting of goods such as timber, linen, cotton, silk and spices for longer distances.[11] Opportunities to expand affluence increased between 1099 and 1204, when in 1095 pilgrims and warriors ventured on their journey to reclaim the Holy Land which became known as the Crusades, utilising Venice as the point of departure and rest which heightened the Venetian tourist industry. [12]

Venetian Guilds

Pictorial Representation of the City of Venice

The Venetian community in the Renaissance was constructed on the emphasis on the relationships between neighbours, ritual brothers and kinsmen all living together in equality from the upper and lower social class.[13] Many scholars believe that the stability, prosperity and political security was significantly due to their notion of working together and communal action. Petrarch, in the mid fourteenth century, described Venice as “solidly built on marble but standing more solid on a foundation of civil concord."[14] The stability of Venice was escalated through the system of guilds. Dennis Romano wrote in his book, Patricians and Popolani: “Nowhere in Venetian Society was the emphasis on community and solidarity more pronounced than in the guilds.”[15] By the mid-fourteenth century, Venice has founded more than fifty guilds that helped to achieve cooperation from both members of the government and the guild.[16] The government was shrewd to practice fair justice equally to all social levels which prevented riots or political protests.[17] Depending on the artisan’s trade and specialty, individuals joined the corresponding guild group upon a pledge of allegiance to the doge.[18] There were many types of guilds such as the stonemasons, woodcarvers, glassmakers, furriers and wool industries. Arte dei Depentori is a painter’s guild which is the oldest known guild dating back to 1271. This groups are not exclusive to painters but also includes gilders, textiles designers, embroiderers, gold-tooled leather artisans, playing-card makers, mask makers, and sign painters.[19] The stratification of the guilds was divided into master craftsmen and workers or apprentices. The masters were in charge of production processes[20] whilst depending on their competency and skills, the workers contributed to production of goods or took on trivial chores such as sweeping the floor or grinding pigments.[21] The functions of the guilds were both political and cultural, contributing their talents during special celebrations and ceremonies. On special events such as the festivals of St. Mark, Feast of the Sensa and Corpus Christi, members of each guild participated in these events for trading of expensive items such as paintings, furniture, carpets, objects of glass, gold, and textiles.[22]

Architecture

View from the main crossing dome to the eastern apse

Art and architecture were utilised as a powerful method to display the grandeur of the city of Venice. Architectures and structures such as Saint Mark’s Basilica, Piazza San Marco and the Doge’s Palace to name a few were “a visible expression of the idea of Venice.”[23] Venice was able to prolong its state of freedom for more than a thousand years and established a standing superior to that of Rome.[24] The citizens of Venice believed themselves to be a pious nation for the lack of association with paganism in the past and claims that the city was founded on the Day of the Annunciation. Therefore, Venetians used pompous and intricate architectural designs to display the city’s “pure, legitimate and undefiled” Christianity.[25] The art during the Renaissance period of Venice continued to draw heavy influence from the  styles of the Byzantine Empire.[26]

The influence of Byzantium persisted to be the dominant style from the seventh century to the thirteenth century until the Gothic style started taking over.[27] Venice was pronounced to be a “semi-independent province of Byzantium,” gradually increasing its autonomy while the power of Byzantium declined. This switch of superiority became explicitly evident when the patron saint of Venice, Saint Theodore the Byzantine ascetic was replaced by Saint Mark.[28] The capitals for the gateway were influenced by the Veneto-Byzantine capitals in the eleventh century.[29] The Veneto-Byzantine style was also adapted to a palace obtained by the Duke Francesco Sforza of Milan. The Duke’s palace, Ca’ del Duca situated on the Grand Canal was constructed by a Florentine architect, Benedetto Ferrini.[30]

Many elements of St Mark’s Basilica which is deemed one of the most important public architecture[31] in Venice are also overlapped with the artistic styles of Byzantium. The Venetian ports were crowded by international travellers and merchants from afar and the goods they brought from their native countries excited the Venetians to ameliorate its current artistic status of the city. Saint Mark’s Basilica was furnished with rich materials such as mosaics, carvings and marbles keeping to the Byzantine style.[32] Venice was becoming a strong independent city without the need to rely on the Byzantine allies. During the Crusades, a multitude of pilgrims came from its surrounding states bringing with them “rare oriental marbles, precious works of art and military trophies” which gave rise to the abundant flow of multicultural goods which helped to build “new self confidence and individuality” laid on its own free-standing foundation.[33] However, the ongoing influence and guide of the Byzantine Empire which nourished the rise of Venice continued in the city’s future architectural buildings employing Byzantium’s traditional building types, techniques and decoration.[34]

Painting

Detailed image of Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Allegory of the Good Government, 1338-1339

The imagination and creativity of the Venetian artists were not limited to architecture; the practices of painting took on equal substantiality. The traditional methods of the Byzantine style persisted even in the painting faction until around 1400 before the dominant style began to shift towards International Gothic and Italian Renaissance first brought into Venice by Paduan Guariento, Gentile di Fabriano and Pisanello when they were commissioned to ornament the frescoes of the Doge’s palace.[35] One of the first of the Byzantine influenced paintings was the high altarpiece in Saint Mark’s Basilica, the golden polyptych Pala d’Oro adorned with precious gems and enamels. This altarpiece was commissioned in 976 CE in Constantinople which underwent several adjustments until 1345 persevering in the Byzantine fashion.[36]

The zenith of Venetian art is considered to be around the sixteenth century with the overflow of artistic productions from noteworthy artists such as the “Bellini family, Lotto, Carpaccio, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese.”[37]

The symbol of Venice is known to be the Virgin or the goddess Venus but the “Lion of St. Mark” is the oldest and most universal symbol of the republic. Saint Mark is the figure which welcomes outsiders into the city as it stands on the summit of the column on the Piazzetta along with other public structures such as the city gates and palaces. Depictions of lions in paintings represented the significance of the saint as the patron of the city of Venice. An example is the tempera on canvas by Vittore Carpaccio, Lion of Saint Mark, 1516. The powerful image of the lion portrayed with the divine marks of the halo and wings, points to an open book with the inscriptions “Peace unto you Mark, my evangelist” explicitly stating its protection and blessing over the city.[38]The delineation of the lion’s front paws above land whilst the rear paws stand above the sea alludes to the dominance of Venice’s reign over both territories as a fulfillment of Saint Mark’s promise.[39]

According to Edward Muir, the harmonious concord and stability of Venice was reflected in its paintings.[40] Venice was widely known and revered for retaining the reputation of “unsullied liberty, unwavering religiosity, social harmony and unfailing peaceful intentions.”[41] The republic of Venice was the leading city to uphold the utilisation of artistic patronage as an “arm of government” in its realisation of the potential of art as a political asset.[42] A commonly occurring theme in Venetian paintings is “civic concord” as shown in Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s artwork Allegory of Good and Bad Government which was to be placed in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena.[43] This work of the early Renaissance illustrates the personified political virtues, Justice and Good Government. Lorenzetti’s fresco underlines the values of “peace, harmony and security” which are the prize or benefits available for the citizens to enjoy if they obey the city’s regulations, disregarding any form of “temptations of ambition and avarice”.[44]



  1. ^ Denys Sutton, "Venetian Painting of the Golden Age." Apollo (Archive : 1925-2005) 110, no. 213 (Nov 01, 1979): 374.
  2. ^ “History of Venice,” The Ladies’ Literary Cabinet, Being a Repository of Miscellaneous Literary Productions, both Original and Selected in Prose and Verse (1819-1822) 4, no. 6 (June 16, 1821): 41.
  3. ^ Patricia Fortini Brown, “Venice & Antiquity: the Venetian Sense of the Past,” (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996): 6.
  4. ^ Dennis Romano, “Patricians and Popolani: the Social Foundations of the Venetian Renaissance State,”(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987): 6.
  5. ^ Brown, Venice & Antiquity, 7.
  6. ^ Joanne Marie Ferraro, “Venice History of the Floating City,”(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012): 29.
  7. ^ Elisabeth Crouzet-Pavan, “Venice Triumphant: the Horizons of a Myth”(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002): 60.
  8. ^ Crouzet-Pavan, Venice Triumphant, 60.
  9. ^ Crouzet-Pavan, Venice Triumphant, 61.
  10. ^ Romano, Patricians and Popolani, 7.
  11. ^ Ferraro, Venice History of the Floating City, 30.
  12. ^ Ferraro, Venice History of the Floating City, 29.
  13. ^ Deborah Howard, “The Architectural History of Venice,” (London: B.T. Batsford, 1980): 17.
  14. ^ Romano, Patricians and Popolani, 4.
  15. ^ Romano, Patricians and Popolani, 66.
  16. ^ Romano, Patricians and Popolani, 8.
  17. ^ Romano, Patricians and Popolani, 8.
  18. ^ Patricia Fortini Brown, “Art and Life in Renaissance Venice” (Upper Saddle River: N.J. Pearson, 2005): 42
  19. ^ Brown, Art and Life in Renaissance Venice, 42.
  20. ^ Romano, Patricians and Popolani, 67.
  21. ^ Brown, Art and Life in Renaissance Venice, 44.
  22. ^ Brown, Art and Life in Renaissance Venice, 43.
  23. ^ Brown, Art and Life in Renaissance Venice, 65.
  24. ^ Brown, Art and Life in Renaissance Venice, 71.
  25. ^ Brown, Art and Life in Renaissance Venice, 71.
  26. ^ Howard, The Architectural History of Venice, 104.
  27. ^ Howard, The Architectural History of Venice, 19.
  28. ^ Howard, The Architectural History of Venice, 19.
  29. ^ Howard, The Architectural History of Venice, 105.
  30. ^ Howard, The Architectural History of Venice, 107.
  31. ^ Howard, The Architectural History of Venice, 17.
  32. ^ Howard, The Architectural History of Venice, 20.
  33. ^ Howard, The Architectural History of Venice, 20.
  34. ^ Howard, The Architectural History of Venice, 20.
  35. ^ Michelle P. Brown, “The Lion Companion to Christian Art,” (Oxford: Lion Hudson, 2008): 260.
  36. ^ Brown, The Lion Companion to Christian Art, 25.
  37. ^ Brown, The Lion Companion to Christian Art, 260.
  38. ^ Brown, Art and Life in Renaissance Venice, 81.
  39. ^ Brown, Art and Life in Renaissance Venice, 81.
  40. ^ Edward Muir, "Images of Power: Art and Pageantry in Renaissance Venice," The American Historical Review 84, no. 1 (1979): 16.
  41. ^ Muir, Images of Power, 16.
  42. ^ Muir, Images of Power, 18.
  43. ^ Muir, Images of Power, 18.
  44. ^ Muir, Images of Power, 18.
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