Art in Venice

All art located in Venice, Italy

videos + essays

Leonardo da Vinci, “Vitruvian Man”
Leonardo da Vinci, “Vitruvian Man”

The “Vitruvian Man” presupposes, with enough effort, idealism can be achieved in human reality.

Rock crystal ewer, San Marco
Rock crystal ewer, San Marco

This rock crystal ewer is a unique testament to the height of rock crystal production in Fatimid Cairo.

Icon of the Archangel Michael
Icon of the Archangel Michael

An exceptional example of Byzantine craftsmanship, this shimmering icon was taken from Constantinople to Venice during the Crusades

Mobility and reuse: the Romanos chalices and the chalice with hares
Mobility and reuse: the Romanos chalices and the chalice with hares

Three chalices show the important roles that materiality, ornament, and craftsmanship could play in an object’s cross-cultural mobility, reuse, and preservation through the centuries.

Vittore Carpaccio, <em>Miracle of the Relic of the Cross at the Rialto Bridge</em>
Vittore Carpaccio, Miracle of the Relic of the Cross at the Rialto Bridge

A painting shows life on the Grand Canal of Venice, including Black gondoliers

Byzantine Art and the Fourth Crusade
Byzantine Art and the Fourth Crusade

Crusaders sacked Constantinople and brought looted treasures back to Venice before the Byzantines recaptured their capital city.

Three synagogues in the Venetian Ghetto
Three synagogues in the Venetian Ghetto

The first Ghetto, Jews in Renaissance Venice

The Renaissance Synagogues of Venice
The Renaissance Synagogues of Venice

The original Ghetto, on a small Venetian island, hides Renaissance era synagogues of startling beauty

Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, Torcello
Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, Torcello

fresco, mosaic, and marble threatened by a rising sea and the salt it leaves behind

Venice’s San Marco, a mosaic of spiritual treasure
Venice’s San Marco, a mosaic of spiritual treasure

Nearly everything in medieval and Renaissance Venice was stolen or imported—and the Venetians advertised that on the facade of the Cathedral.

Venice’s San Marco, a mosaic of spiritual treasure
Venice’s San Marco, a mosaic of spiritual treasure

Acts of sacred theft, Venice as a mosaic of treasures from afar

Giorgione, <em>The Tempest</em>
Giorgione, The Tempest

In the distance, lightning strikes. What does it mean? Poetic and evocative, this painting invites interpretation.