Pesaro Altar
Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari - Venice
Restoration of the Pesaro Altar
- Client: UNESCO Venezia, Save Venice Inc.
- Project: Soprintendenza Archeologia. Beni Artistici e Paesaggio di Venezia
- Direction of works: Dott.sa Maria Grazia Fumo, Rest. Sandro Longega, Soprintendenza di Venezia
The restoration of the Pesaro Altar and of the Pesaro Altarpiece of the Basilica dei Frari was and incredible opportunity to take a closer look and reveal the original chromatic richness of the Altar itself. Centuries of dust and harsh interventions dulled and covered the original beauty and magnificence.
The delicate and gradual cleaning phases of the frame brought to surface the original gilding and chromatic backgrounds of gold and blue, symbol of the Pesaro family. With this colors revealed and its colorful marbles, the Altar must have appeared more bright and luxurious, in perfect symphony with the painting that is frames.
Working so close to the frame during the restoration work, allowed us to discover details otherwise not visible to those watching from ground level. An example is the two page boys holding shields at the very top of the tympanum: they are symmetric but extremely different in terms of style and refinement to make one think that even the doers were different, united though by the stance and the gilding.
