![\"Workers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/16e16a9c-f3d7-4ba9-be45-2ea346451647.jpg\")
Restorers have begun stabilising the painting\u2019s wooden support and carrying out analysis<\/p>\nTowards the end of the 15th century, as Venice\u2019s San Giobbe church was taking form, Giovanni Bellini toiled on an enormous bespoke altarpiece while its future home was still a building site. <\/p>\n
The work was completed in the 1480s and set into an elaborate stone frame specially built into the newly consecrated church\u2019s walls. The vast depiction of the Virgin and Child surrounded by saints was unlike anything the lagoon republic had ever seen.<\/p>\n
By 1815, when Venice had been defeated by Napoleon and was under Austrian\u00a0rule, the painting had deteriorated in the damp church. It was relocated to the Gallerie dell\u2019Accademia, now a museum in the city. The work depicts the Madonna and baby Jesus on a throne flanked by saints, including Sebastian and Francis, with angel musicians at their feet. Measuring 4.7m by 2.5m, it remains one of the museum\u2019s biggest draws.<\/p>\n
Restorers have begun stabilising the painting\u2019s wooden support and carrying out analysis<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a work of immense importance, not only [for] Venetian art but for all of Italian art,\u201d Giulio Manieri Elia, the museum\u2019s director, told The Times. \u201cIt represents that pivotal moment in the Renaissance when the polyptych made with multiple panels transitioned to monumental single altarpieces.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now the altarpiece is being given its most comprehensive restoration in more than 500 years, the museum has announced, after small movements in its wooden support made from 13 horizontal poplar planks created long cracks on its discoloured surface. <\/p>\n
As the painting is too fragile to move far, part of its\u00a0display room has been turned into a temporary laboratory. Visitors will be able to see restorers at work through a window.<\/p>\n
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\u201cShowcasing a restoration project is not only an act of transparency but also one of accessibility, providing information and insights that the public can see,\u201d said Manieri Elia, who is leading the expected two-year project. \u201cWe don\u2019t have to hide one of the collection\u2019s absolute masterpieces from view.\u201d<\/p>\n
The restoration has been budgeted at \u20ac500,000 (\u00a3430,000). Venetian Heritage, a non-profit organisation, will provide almost \u20ac268,000 and Italy\u2019s culture ministry will cover the rest. Venetian Heritage\u2019s portion was provided by Roger Thomas, an American interior designer known for his work on Las Vegas luxury hotels and casinos, and his husband, Arthur Libera. The couple previously provided part of \u20ac7 million raised by Venetian Heritage for a continuing renovation of the spectacular 15th-century Ca D\u2019Oro building<\/a> on the Grand Canal.<\/p>\n Venetian Heritage has worked with the Gallerie dell\u2019Accademia before, funding the refurbishment of four exhibition rooms and the restoration of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo\u2019s 14m-long canvas frieze Scourge of the Serpents (c 1732\u201334), part of the museum\u2019s collection. \u201cWe restore masterpieces, but we also do the air-conditioning, the lighting, and the floors,\u201d said Toto Rossi, the company\u2019s director.<\/p>\n Experts restoring\u00a0the Giobbe altarpiece have started stabilising the painting\u2019s wooden support. Meanwhile, they are carrying out diagnostic analysis using ultraviolet fluorescence imaging, infrared reflectography and radiography, to learn more about\u00a0Bellini\u2019s technique and what changes were made during previous restorations.<\/p>\n Later, they will clean the surface, plaster over gaps and retouch paint before varnishing. Manieri Elia said it was \u201cwithout doubt\u201d the biggest restoration of the altarpiece ever carried out.<\/p>\n Once ready, the painting will be relocated to a former church that forms part of the museum\u2019s permanent exhibition, Rossi said. \u201cThat will give it more breathing space,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will look even more glorious.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Towards the end of the 15th century, as Venice\u2019s San Giobbe church was taking form, Giovanni Bellini toiled…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":343602,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[442,498,499,500,501,156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-343601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343601\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/343602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}