The chapel of St.Mark or of the Corner family
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Triptych of St. Mark
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This is perhaps the most
beautiful chapel of the
Basilica.
It was built in 1420 by
order of Giovanni Corner
and
dedicated to St. Mark the
Evangelist in memory of
Marco, illustrius exponent
of the noble Venetian family.
In front of the beautiful
Gothic doorway is a monument
to Federico Corner, who
had already given orders
to
begin works on the chapel
in 1378: an elegant angel,
work of the School of Donatello,
holding a large scroll
on which is engraved a funeral
elegy reminding the
exploits of the noble Federico
in the Chioggian war
against Genoa. It is reputed
one of the finest
monuments of the Venetian
Renaissance for the perfect
harmony between the architectural
frame and the
sculpted beauty of the figure
within the precious frieze.
The monochrome fresco surrounding
the work is attri-
buted to Andrea Mantegna.
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The
altar of the chapel presents
a work by Bartolomeo Vivarini
from Murano dated 1474: The
Triptych of St. Mark, framed
in
a wonderful wooden altar-piece
which is a excellent example
of
ornate Gothic art. The painting
portrays St. Mark seated on
a
marble throne surrounded by
angels and four saints: on the
left
St. John the Baptist and St.
Jerome, on the right St. Peter
and
St.Nicholas.
The stained glass windows depicted
with saints on the chapel's
apse date back to 15th century,
while the others are work of
Giovanni Beltrami from Milan
(1907).
Two more valuable works feature
the chapel: the beautiful
painting " Christ's descent
into Limbo " by Jacopo
Palma the
younger hung on the wall facing
the altar, and the admirable
statue of St. John the Baptist
signed by the great Florentine
artist Jacopo Sansovino, who
wished to be buried in the
Basilica in the Chapel of St.Peter.
Clearly evident in this work
are the refined taste for the
minute and the technical perfection
achieved in all the particulars
with masterly delicacy.
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St. John the Baptist
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CiaoVenezia
Via della Centa, 30
33070 Polcenigo (PN) Italy
Fax +39 0434 749634
e-mail:
info@ciaovenezia.com
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