Venice - Italy - page 318

Italian artists: the unfathomable sculptures of Medardo Rosso; the strange, ghost-
like nudes of Cesare Laurenti; and Felice Casorati's humorous depiction of the
banal.
Right around the corner from Cà Pesaro, and almost never visited (the ticket
officer has assured me of this), is Palazzo Mocenigo

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(Salizzada San Stae, Santa
Croce 1992; % 041-721798; € 4), where you're forced to ask yourself where kitsch
begins and ends in a city with so much rococo and baroque. Here's another
opportunity to get a sense of the decadent Venetian home interiors of the 18th
century. Formerly the residence of a family that bred seven doges, it was left to the
city by Count Alvise Nicolò Moncenigo, who died a half-century ago, the last in
his family line; today it's a costume and textile museum (which explains the gen-
eral lack of public interest) that's worth a look if only for its opulent rooms.
One of the city's major repositories of art is preserved at the Scuola Grande di
San Rocco (Confraternity of St. Roch)

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(Campo San Rocco, San Polo;
% 041-5234864; www.scuolagrandesanrocco.it; € 5.50 for adults over 18, € 4
concession; Mar 28-Nov 2 daily 9am-5:30pm, Nov 3-Mar 27 daily 10am-4pm), the
city's most important guild hall, and home to some extraordinary works by Jacopo
Tintoretto. The lower gallery features paintings dedicated to the Virgin Mary;
here, in the dramatic Slaughter of the Innocents, notice how the bravery of the
women gives a feminist edge to Tintoretto's work. The painting also demonstrates
the artist's ability to capture the chaos and drama of a spectacular action sequence,
executed at a time when he was grieving the loss of one of his children. Upstairs,
in the Sala Grande (Great Hall), you should be impressed by what is referred to
as Tintoretto's Sistine Chapel, comprising a cycle of works submitted in fulfill-
ment of a permanent contract with the Scuola. Vivid scenes from the Old
Testament grace the ceiling, while New Testament images cover the walls; the hall
is dominated by the central ceiling image of The Miracle of the Bronze Serpent,
which suggests parallels between the afflicted, snake-bitten Israelites and the vic-
tims of Venice's plague (1575-76), when the city called upon St. Roch for aid. In
contrast with other Venetians artists of the time, Tintoretto opted for darker
tones, downplaying the use of color in order to evoke an atmosphere of somber
spiritual contemplation. John Ruskin said La Crocifissione (The Crucifixion) was
“above all praise”; seek it out in the Sala dell'Albergo, a side chamber off the Great
Hall, which is also where you'll find San Rocco in Glory (it's on the ceiling). The
latter is the painting which Tintoretto used to win the commission to supply the
guild with all its canvases. Tintoretto outbid his peers by donating the completed
canvas to the guild rather than simply providing sketches and ideas.
If you don't want to pay to visit the Scuola, at least step within the San Rocco
church (free admission; 7:30am-12:30pm and 3-5pm), where you can see a few
consolatory canvases by Tintoretto; the best are around the main altar, where
St. Roch's ashes are kept. The church also features a glorious ceiling fresco with
ominous perspective drawing the viewer's eyes up to the heavens.
Once you've absorbed as much Tintoretto as you can, set aside some time to
do a comparative study of works by Titian, Bellini, and Donatello at the nearby
Basilica dei Frari

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, known locally as Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (Campo
dei Frari, San Polo 3072; % 041-2728618; www.basilicadeifrari.it; Mon-Sat
9am-6pm, Sun 1-6pm), which is literally just around the corner. Built by the
Franciscans, this vast Gothic pile is one of those “Where do I begin?” attractions,