THE PAINTERLY CYCLE FOR THE SALA DELL’ALBERGO OF THE SCUOLA GRANDE DI SAN MARCO

This decorative undertaking is composed of seven teleri, or large canvases (two of which were held at the Brera Pinacoteca from 1808 to 1809), and took several decades to complete. It was begun by Gentile Bellini in 1504, then continued by his brother Giovanni (both were members of the confraternity), and eventually finished by other artists linked to their workshop. The Scuola’s powers that be commissioned prominent episodes from Saint Mark’s mission to Alexandria, fundamental in legitimising the Christian roots of the Serenissima’s commercial empire along the eastern Mediterranean coast, where many of the confraternity had large economic investments.