San Sebastiano, Venice

Last updated

Chiesa di San Sebastiano
Church of San Sebastiano
San Sebastiano (Venice) Facade.jpg
Facade
Religion
Affiliation Roman Catholic
Year consecrated 1562
StatusActive
Location
LocationDorsoduro, Venice, Italy
Venezia location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Shown within Venice
Italy provincial location map 2016.svg
Red pog.svg
San Sebastiano, Venice (Italy)
Geographic coordinates 45°25′55″N12°19′12″E / 45.432°N 12.320°E / 45.432; 12.320
Architecture
Architect(s) Antonio Abbondi
Type Church
Style Renaissance
Groundbreaking1506
Completed1548
Bell tower and apse. Eglise San Sebastiano Arriere et clocher.jpg
Bell tower and apse.

The Chiesa di San Sebastiano (English: Church of Saint Sebastian) is a 16th-century Roman Catholic church located in the Dorsoduro sestiere of the Italian city of Venice. The church houses a cycle of paintings by the artist Paolo Veronese, as well as paintings by Tintoretto and Titian. The church is a member of the Chorus Association of Venetian churches. It stands on the Campo di San Sebastiano by the Rio di San Basilio, close to the Giudecca Canal. It is one of the five votive churches in Venice, each one built after the passing of a plague through the city. [1] Following construction, the church was dedicated to a saint associated with the disease; in this case St. Sebastian.

Contents

History

San Sebastiano is located on the site of a former hospice which was founded by the confraternity of Gerolimine fathers in 1393. Close to the hospice was an Oratory, built in 1396, and dedicated to Santa Maria Full of Grace and Justice. This was later expanded, and in 1468 was converted into a church dedicated to Saint Sebastian the martyr who was one of the chief patrons against plague and pestilence in Europe. The church is therefore regarded as one of the great Plague-Churches of Venice, built to temper divine punishment, as the plague was viewed in the Middle Ages. [2]

Starting in 1506, a number of alterations, including restructuring and enlargement overseen by the architect Antonio Abbondi (known as Scarpagnino), gave the church its current appearance. The expansion was completed in 1548, and the church was finally consecrated in 1562. [3] It has a single-nave layout designed on a Latin cross. It has an atrium, above which is a raised choir, and culminates in an apsidal presbytery under a cupola. [4] The architectural style of the church is Renaissance. [2] A restoration project was undertaken in 1867. [5]

Exterior

San Sebastiano has a plain façade containing, on the pediment's apex, the figure of St. Sebastian wounded by arrows. Close to the door are small figures of St. Sebastian and St. Jerome, the two saints most closely associated with the church. [2]

Interior

Following a commission by Brother Bernardo Torlioni, the Verona-born painter Paolo Veronese spent three periods between 1555 and 1570 decorating various parts of the interior of San Sebastiano. This included paintings, ceiling canvases and frescoes on the nave and altar walls. Veronese also decorated parts of the sacristy and choir, as well as completing the organ decorations and a large altar piece. [3]

The nave's sectioned ceiling contains three paintings depicting episodes from the Book of Esther which Veronese completed in 1556. The paintings behind the choir depict the life of St Sebastian to whom the church is dedicated. The organ doors and frontal contain three pieces: The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple; The Washing of Sacrificial Animals in the Temple; and The Nativity. [4] Veronese also painted an Assumption of the Virgin in the cupola but this was destroyed in the 18th century. [6]

The painting standing behind the high altar was the last work completed by Veronese in the church. It is a scene depicting Madonna in Glory with St Sebastian and other Saints and was completed in 1570. The painting is enclosed in a multi-coloured marble frame of the artist's own design which was commissioned by a Venetian noblewoman, Lise Querini, in 1559. [6] The conception and execution of the painting by Veronese would have coincided with the final sessions of the Council of Trent which published a series of decrees in 1564. These decrees condemned Protestant iconoclasm and renewed earlier emphasis on the inspirational value (namely through scenes of martyrdom) of saints' images. [6]

Following his decades of work within the church, on his death, Veronese was entombed there in 1588. [5] The tomb is located to the left of the sanctuary. [3]

Other notable works found in the church include Titian's St Nicolas (1563) and works by Paris Bordone, Jacopo Sansovino, Palma il Giovane and Alessandro Vittoria. In the sacristy there are works by Jacopo Tintoretto and Bonifacio de' Pitati. [4]

Veronese paintings in San Sebastiano
Paolo Veronese 024.jpg Paolo Veronese - The Triumph of Mordecai - WGA24785.png Paolo Veronese - The Banishment of Vashti.png Paolo Veronese - St Sebastian - WGA24791.jpg Paolo Veronese - Three Archers - WGA24789.jpg
Virgin Assumed with SaintsTriumph of Mordecai Banishment of Vashti St Sebastian MartyrArchers for St Sebastian
Paolo Veronese - Annunciation - WGA24792.jpg Paolo Veronese 025.jpg Martyrdom of St Sebastian, glaven korab.jpg Paolo Veronese 030.jpg Paolo Veronese - St Sebastian Reproving Diocletian - WGA24788.jpg
Annunciation
(1558)
Martyrdom of St Lawrence
(c. 1565)
Martyrdom of St Sebastian
(1558)
Martyrdom of Sts Mark & Marcellinus
(c. 1565)
St Sebastian reproving Diocletian
(1558)
Paolo Veronese - Esther Crowned by Ahasuerus - WGA24784.jpg Paolo Veronese - Coronation of the Virgin - WGA24795.jpg Paolo Veronese - Presentation in the Temple - WGA24793.jpg Paolo Veronese - Healing of the Lame Man at the Pool of Bethesda - WGA24794.jpg Veneto Venezia12 tango7174.jpg
Esther Crowned by AhasuerusCoronation of VirginPresentation in the Temple
(1560)
Miracle at Pool of Bethesda
(organ panels)
Organ with panels
Paolo Veronese - St Matthew - WGA24799.jpg Paolo Veronese - St Mark - WGA24798.jpg Paolo Veronese - St Luke - WGA24797.jpg Paolo Veronese - St John the Evangelist - WGA24796.jpg Veneto Venezia11 tango7174.jpg
St MatthewSt MarkSt LukeSt JohnCoffered Ceiling with Veronese canvases

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titian</span> Italian painter (died 1576)

Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio, known in English as Titian, was an Italian (Venetian) Renaissance painter of Lombard origin, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. During his lifetime he was often called da Cadore, 'from Cadore', taken from his native region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paolo Veronese</span> Italian Renaissance painter

Paolo Caliari, known as Paolo Veronese, was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as The Wedding at Cana (1563) and The Feast in the House of Levi (1573). Included with Titian, a generation older, and Tintoretto, a decade senior, Veronese is one of the "great trio that dominated Venetian painting of the cinquecento" and the Late Renaissance in the 16th century. Known as a supreme colorist, and after an early period with Mannerism, Paolo Veronese developed a naturalist style of painting, influenced by Titian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tintoretto</span> 16th-century Italian painter of the Renaissance

Tintoretto was an Italian painter identified with the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized the speed with which he painted, and the unprecedented boldness of his brushwork. For his phenomenal energy in painting he was termed Il Furioso. His work is characterised by his muscular figures, dramatic gestures and bold use of perspective, in the Mannerist style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Maria Zobenigo</span>

The Chiesa di Santa Maria del Giglio is a church in Venice, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari</span> Church in Venice, Italy

The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, commonly abbreviated to the Frari, is a church located in the Campo dei Frari at the heart of the San Polo district of Venice, Italy. It is the largest church in the city and it has the status of a minor basilica. The church is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Giacomo dell'Orio</span>

The Chiesa di San Giacomo dall'Orio is a church located in the sestiere (quarter) of Santa Croce in Venice, northern Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Maria della Salute</span> Church in Venice, Italy

Santa Maria della Salute, commonly known simply as the Salute, is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica located at Punta della Dogana in the Dorsoduro sestiere of the city of Venice, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice</span> Church in Venice, Italy

The Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, known in Venetian as San Zanipolo, is a church in the Castello sestiere of Venice, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alessandro Vittoria</span> Italian sculptor (1525–1608)

Alessandro Vittoria was an Italian Mannerist sculptor of the Venetian school, "one of the main representatives of the Venetian classical style" and rivalling Giambologna as the foremost sculptors of the late 16th century in Italy, producing works such as Annunciation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palma il Giovane</span> Venetian painter (1548/50–1628)

Iacopo Negretti, best known as Jacopo or Giacomo Palma il Giovane or simply Palma Giovane, was an Italian painter from Venice and a notable exponent of the Venetian school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Giorgio Maggiore (church), Venice</span> Church in Venice, Italy

San Giorgio Maggiore is a 16th-century Benedictine church on the island of the same name in Venice, northern Italy, designed by Andrea Palladio, and built between 1566 and 1610. The church is a basilica in the classical Renaissance style and its brilliant white marble gleams above the blue water of the lagoon opposite the Piazzetta di San Marco and forms the focal point of the view from every part of the Riva degli Schiavoni.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francesco della Vigna</span>

San Francesco della Vigna is a Roman Catholic church in the Sestiere of Castello in Venice, northern Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madonna dell'Orto</span>

The Madonna dell'Orto is a church in Venice, Italy, in the sestiere of Cannaregio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmini</span> Church building in Venice, Italy

Santa Maria dei Carmini, also called Santa Maria del Carmelo and commonly known simply as the Carmini, is a large Roman Catholic church in the sestiere, or neighbourhood, of Dorsoduro in Venice, northern Italy. It nestles against the former Scuola Grande di Santa Maria del Carmelo, also known as the Scuola dei Carmini. This charitable confraternity was officially founded in 1597, and arose from a lay women's charitable association, the Pinzocchere dei Carmini. The members of this lay group were associated as tertiaries to the neighbouring Carmelite monastery. They were responsible for stitching the scapulars for the Carmelites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Bernardino, Verona</span>

San Bernardino is a church in Verona, northern Italy. The church, in Gothic style, was built from 1451 to 1466.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venetian painting</span> Art from the Republic of Venice

Venetian painting was a major force in Italian Renaissance painting and beyond. Beginning with the work of Giovanni Bellini and his brother Gentile Bellini and their workshops, the major artists of the Venetian school included Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto (1518–1594), Paolo Veronese (1528–1588) and Jacopo Bassano (1510–1592) and his sons. Considered to give primacy to colour over line, the tradition of the Venetian school contrasted with the Mannerism prevalent in the rest of Italy. The Venetian style exerted great influence upon the subsequent development of Western painting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Gesuiti, Venice</span> Church in Veneto, Italy

The church of Santa Maria Assunta, known as I Gesuiti, is a religious building in Venice, northern Italy. It is located in the sestiere of Cannaregio, in Campo dei Gesuiti, not far from the Fondamenta Nuove.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Sofia, Venice</span>

Santa Sofia is a church located in the sestiere (neighborhood) of Cannaregio in Venice, Italy. It should be distinguished from the palazzo Ca' d'Oro on the Grand Canal is also called the Palazzo Santa Sofia.

The Sanctuary of the Madonna del Pilastrello is a Renaissance style, Roman Catholic minor basilica church in the city of Lendinara, in the province of Rovigo, region of Veneto, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Geminiano, Venice</span> Church in Veneto, Italy

San Geminiano was a Roman Catholic church located in Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy, dedicated to Saint Geminianus. It is believed to have been founded by the Byzantines in the 6th century AD and it was destroyed and rebuilt several times over subsequent centuries. The last reconstruction began in 1505 to designs of the architect Cristoforo da Legname, and it was completed by Jacopo Sansovino in 1557. This church was a significant example of Venetian Renaissance architecture, and it was well-known for being ornate and richly decorated. The building was demolished in 1807 in order to make way for the Napoleonic wing of the Procuratie, and many of the artworks it contained were distributed among other churches and museums.

References

  1. Avery, Harold (February 1966). "Plague churches, monuments and memorials". Proc. R. Soc. Med. 59 (2): 110–116. PMC   1900794 . PMID   5906745.
  2. 1 2 3 Allen, Grant (1898). Venice. London: G. Richards. pp. 116–119. ISBN   0-665-05089-5.
  3. 1 2 3 "Church of St Sebastiano". VeneziaSi. Archived from the original on 3 July 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 "Church of San Sebastiano". Chorus Associazione. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
  5. 1 2 Hutton, Edward (1954). Venice and Venetia (4th ed.). p. 141. ISBN   1-4446-4992-2.
  6. 1 2 3 Humfrey, Peter (2000). "Veronese's High Altarpiece for San Sebastiano". In Martin, John Jeffries; Romano, Dennis (eds.). Venice reconsidered: the history and civilization of an Italian city-state, 1297-1797 . Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp.  365–388. ISBN   0-8018-7308-8.