Cinquecento Façade Frescoes in Venice and descriptions of ancient painted exteriors
Abstract
The Renaissance vogue of frescoing facades of palaces was not limited to Venice and the Veneto, but façade frescoes in Renaissance Venice proliferated after the decision of the Senate in 1505 that statuary and encrustations of marbles on facades would be reserved for buildings of church and state. The painted palaces of patricians and wealthy merchants along the Grand Canal and in major campi are described as splendid in Cinquecento and early Seicento sources.
While the façade frescoes of the city of Venice can now be studied only via descriptions, drawings, prints, and a few salvaged fragments, in the Venetian Stato di Terra (Verona, Treviso, Bassano) many are quite well preserved.
Were there other reasons for this vogue, which seems unwise for a city in the sea where the salt air “eats” the paintings (Vasari 1568)?
This paper will explore the possible relation of the short-lived painted splendor of Renaissance Venice’s facades to written descriptions of ancient cities that were being published apace by Venetian printing presses (Herodotus 1502, Vitruvius 1511, Strabo 1516 and many more), and will consider if any city of the ancient world stands out as a model for emulation.
