Frari Triptych
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The Frari Triptych is the work (signed and dated 1488) of Giovanni Bellini (c. 1430-1516).
The painting can be found in the sacristy, which is also the Pesaro Chapel. The sacristy was granted to the Pesaro family in 1478 and a pentagonal apse was added. Here lies the body of Pietro Pesaro and his wife Franceschina Tron. The triptych was commissioned by the couple's three sons Nicolò, Marco and Benedetto. It depicts the Virgin and Child flanked by St Nicholas and St Peter (left panel) and St Mark and St Benedict (right panel). The patron saints of all four male members of the Pesaro family are duly represented in the painting. The elaborate and gilded wooden frame was carved by Jacopo da Faenza. There is an inscription above the Virgin's head: IANUA CERTA POLI DUC MENTEM DIRIGE VITAM: QUAE PERAGAM COMMISSA TUAE SINT OMNIA CURAE (Secure gateway to Heaven, guide my mind, lead my life, may everything I do be entrusted to your care). Henry James wrote about the 'Frari' Triptych: 'Nothing in Venice is more perfect than this, and we know of no work of art more complete.' The beautiful fresco of the Annunciation, on the exterior of the apse, is by Jacopo Parisati. Surrounding the entrance to the sacristy is the tomb of Benedetto Pesaro, who died in 1503. Pesaro was a captain of the Venetian fleets and died in Corfu. The monument is the work of Lorenzo and Giambattista Bregno. The statue of Pesaro is flanked by statues of Mars and Neptune. His tomb is decorated with reliefs of the fortresses of Lefkada and Cephalonia, which Pesaro captured. To either side are two sailing galleys. |
The 'Frari' Triptych by Giovanni Bellini
Monument to Benedetto Pesaro
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