Abstract:

The Franciscan Observant convent of Santa Maria Maggiore in Venice was the recipient of a unique cycle of six paintings depicting medieval miracles of the Virgin, created between 1618 and 1628 by the Paduan artist Alessandro Varotari. These paintings have never been examined as an artistic or a cultural phenomenon, though contemporary sources lauded them as one of the most important cycles in 17th-century Venice. Similar paintings were created by Leandro Bassano, Giulio Carpioni, Andrea Celesti, and Bernardino Prudenti for the churches of Santa Chiara, Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, and the Cappella della Pace in Venice during the subsequent fifty years, which have not survived. These works appear to be the only representatives of their iconography in early modern Italy. The first half of the dissertation examines the literary and visual tradition of these medieval Marian miracles, the church and monastery of Santa Maria Maggiore and its images, and the other sites where similar paintings could be found.

The period during which the paintings were created can be characterized as the last phase of Venice's battle to maintain the semi-autonomous nature of its "national" church in the face of Post-Tridentine reforms. The second half of the thesis addresses whether these images reflect a specifically Venetian form of spirituality, placing these paintings within the context of contemporary Venetian religious life, and explaining their emergence in a geographically circumscribed area during a period when medieval legends of the Virgin were proscribed by the Catholic Church. A key to their existence lies in the pastoral writings and sacred art patronage of the Venetian patriarch, Giovanni Tiepolo (1570-1631). Profoundly influenced by his close association with the circle of Paolo Sarpi, Tiepolo embarked on a broad program to re-invigorate Marian veneration in the city. An examination of his pastoral writings in conjunction with his patronage indicates that Tiepolo attempted to fabricate a specifically Venetian form of religiosity grounded in both the exterior and interior cult. Interpreting these passages helps to situate Venice's particular attitudes towards sacred art and Marian veneration within the larger resurgence of religious art and piety in Baroque Italy.