Giambattista Tiepolo's Frescoes for the Church of the Pieta in Venice

Abstract

In 1762, on the second anniversary of the consecration of the new church of the Piet'a, the Venetian noble Pietro Gradenigo described the project in his chronicle as worthy of the 'grado ed universale compiacimento della Dominante' .1 Perhaps Gradenigo was not the most detached observer, for he had only recently been elected as one of the governors of the hospital.2 Nonetheless his praise was surely well deserved. Between the laying of the foundation stone in 1745 and the consecration of the church, just fifteen years had elapsed.3 By 1762, even the decoration of the interior was complete. Within less than a decade the ceiling had been frescoed by Giambattista Tiepolo, the five altarpieces had been painted by Piazzetta and his pupils, and the sculpture on the high altar had been completed, not to mention the furnishings and lamps. Only the facade remained unfinished, to be finally completed in 1906.4 The church thus became the setting for the last major religious decorative scheme in the whole history of Venetian painting. This article will attempt to place Tiepolo's fresco cycle in its wider historical and cultural context, in order to gain a fuller understanding of this hitherto little studied yet important work. Before we turn to the decoration of the new church we should first examine briefly the nature of the institution and its administration. The Ospedale della Piet'a, the foundling hospital of Venice, had been founded by a Franciscan monk in 1346, but over the centuries its administration had become progressively more secular.5 The Pieta was one of the city's four state-supported hospitals.6 More importantly, since 1353 the hospital had been under the direct juspatronato or legal patronage of the Doge himself.7 Moreover, the governing body who supervised the day-to-day running of the institution included some of the wealthiest and most powerful nobles in the Republic.8 Even the spiritual life of the hospital was effectively under State control, for the primicerio of San Marco, the Doge's private chaplain, was placed in charge.9 The governing body consisted of nobles and wealthy citizens in varying numbers, who coopted new members as the need arose. In the mid eighteenth century the number of governors present at meetings of the congregazione ranged between five and ten, unless a matter of particular importance was to be discussed, when as many as 25 might attend. Day-to-day duties were shared out at the beginning of each year among the ten or so most active governors.10 An impression of the standing of the governing body in the mid eighteenth century can be conveyed simply by mentioning some of those closely connected with the Doges of the period. For example, Luigi Pisani, Knight and Procurator of St Mark's, was the son of Doge Alvise Pisani who officiated when the model for the new church was selected in 1736.11 Lorenzo Grimani was the brother of Doge Pietro Grimani who laid the foundation stone.'2 Alvise Manin was the father of the last Doge of Venice, Lodovico Manin.13 Francesco Loredan himself became Doge in 1752.14 Pietro Foscarini, whose branch of the family had no male heirs, chose as his heir the future Doge, Marco Foscarini.15 And Barbon Morosini was a candidate for the office of Doge when Pietro Grimani was elected in 1741.16 Hence, this exceptional group not only enjoyed the privileges of family wealth and influence, but also had direct access to ducal circles. The hospital had long occupied a group of buildings on the Riva degli Schiavoni, some dating back to the Middle Ages.'7 By the eighteenth century the accommodation was woefully inadequate. In 1733 there were 900 children actually in residence, with a further 4000 lodged with wet nurses and foster parents.'8 Their care and maintenance was, of course, the chief function of the institution.19 However, in the daily life of the Piet'a pride of place was given to music. Indeed as in the case of the three other State-supported hospitals of Venice, all of which also housed orphans it was as a conservatorio or music school that the institution was best known at this period.20 The musical eminence of the Piet'a had reached its climax in the first decades of the eighteenth century. Vivaldi, who wrote concerti and taught the violin at the hospital on and off between 1704 and 1740, is now the best remembered of the Piet'a musicians.21 From the Notatorii of the Piet'a it is clear that, of all the orphans, the girl musicians were the best cared for. The principal solo-singers were given special treats such as extra food and garlic; and when the most talented musicians were ill they received bonus rations of asses' milk or extra firewood, or were sent to the country for a change of air.22