Madonna in Gloria con Otto Santi, Giovanni Bellini, 1510-1515
Church of San Pietro Martire, Murano, Venice

Venetian Heritage is funding the restoration of the wooden altarpiece Madonna in Gloria con otto Santi painted by Giovanni Bellini between 1510 and 1515. The considerable painting was realized for the church of Santa Maria Degli Angeli of Murano, which conserved its apparent renaissance style and was emptied of all artworks from 1806 during the Napoleonic suppressions. The altarpiece was moved to the church of San Pietro Martire, also on the island of Murano, and presented different conservational problems caused by high levels of humidity in the church. In the 1980s it was subsequently placed horizontally in the deposits/laboratories of the museum of the Gallerie dell’Accademia of Venice. Although considered one of Bellini’s masterpieces, the painting’s pictorial film always had conservational issues. They are probably due to the poor quality of the primer, set between the wooden support and the layers of paint, which unexpectedly reacts to strong climatic changes and the humidity levels of given environments. The Opificio Delle Pietre Dure di Firenze, which is currently restoring the work, has identified a type of intervention that will address the problems mentioned above allowing the public to appreciate once again this masterpiece, after more than 40 years.