Detail of the stuccowork and bas-relief in the Orchestra Rehearsal Room in the Conservatorio Benedetto Marcello in Palazzo Pisani, after conservation.

VENICE.- Save Venice is proud to support the education and training of the next generation of art conservators by funding coursework and restoration fieldwork at the Istituto Veneto per i Beni Culturali (IVBC) Restoration School in Venice. This long-standing partnership also fostered a new collaboration between the IVBC and Venice’s prestigious Conservatorio Benedetto Marcello in Palazzo Pisani, through a pilot initiative of conservation treatments funded by Save Venice with generous support by the Manitou Fund through Nora McNeely Hurley.

The 17th-century Palazzo Pisani, located adjacent to Campo Santo Stefano, is the second largest palace in Venice after Palazzo Ducale. During a 2023 summer program, the IVBC’s expert conservators and two recent graduates led students in the treatment of 18th-century frescoes, stuccowork, and marble decoration in two of the palazzo’s 137 rooms. The remarkable results of these initial efforts were presented to the public this month, and Save Venice is now continuing its engagement with the two institutions by funding a 2024 full year program of stucco conservation in four rooms in the Conservatory’s museum.

The conservation of frescoes, stuccowork, and marble decoration in two rooms of the Conservatorio Benedetto Marcello in Palazzo Pisani was undertaken in 2023 by the Istituto Veneto per I Beni Culturali (IVBC) restoration school as a part of their post-graduate fieldwork program. Save Venice is proud to spearhead this new partnership between two of Venice’s important educational institutions–the Conservatorio Benedetto Marcello and the IVBC. The remarkable results of these initial efforts were presented to the public in December 2023, and Save Venice is now continuing its engagement with the two institutions by funding a 2024 full-year program of stucco conservation in four rooms in the Conservatory’s museum.

Located on the 2nd floor of Palazzo Pisani, which was originally the primo piano nobile, this antechamber overlooks the interior courtyard and provides access to another larger room. Frescoes adorn all four walls and depict illusionistic architecture with gargoyles, and mythological and allegorical figures including Cupid, Venus, and Adonis, and likely date to the mid to late 18th century. When the interior of the palazzo was heavily reworked in the 19th century, these frescoes were covered over for nearly a century before being uncovered again in the mid-20th century. Today the room is used by students of Venice’s music conservatory and for art exhibitions.

This room originally housed Almorò Pisani’s precious library and collection of medals and coins, which were sold in the 19th century, and today it functions as the orchestra rehearsal room for Venice’s music conservatory. The intricate stucco decorations and bas-reliefs adorn the north and south walls and date to the second half of the 18th century. The rich stucco motifs feature mouldings with geometric designs intertwined with dynamic acanthus leaves, further enriched by coats of arms of the Catholic Church. The bas-reliefs could potentially be attributed to the workshop of plasterers active in Palazzo Pisani in that period– Giuseppe Ferrari and Francesco Re–and they feature portraits of Johannes Calvinus on the north wall and Martin Luther on the south wall.

Detail of the fresco decoration in the antechamber room in the Conservatorio Benedetto Marcello in Palazzo Pisani, after conservation.

Detail of the 18th-century frescoes in the antechamber Adonis Room, before and after conservation.

Detail of the marble relief of John Calvin and stuccowork in the orchestra rehearsal room, before and after conservation.

Conservation

The 17th-century Palazzo Pisani, located adjacent to Campo Santo Stefano, is the second largest palace in Venice after Palazzo Ducale. During a 2023 summer program, the IVBC’s expert conservators and two recent graduates led students in the treatment of 18th-century frescoes, stuccowork, and marble decoration in two of the palazzo’s 137 rooms to systematically address and treat the precious decoration.

The antechamber room on the second floor of Palazzo Pisani boasts frescoes from the late 17th and early 18th century. The fact that these frescoes were previously covered over in the 19th century and uncovered again in the mid-20th century led to their increased fragility. Urgent intervention was needed to address the numerous cracks and fissures that had caused the delicate plaster to lift and detach from the wall beneath. A thick layer of surface grime was also carefully removed, and isolated areas of decorative losses were re-integrated. Other environmental factors over the centuries had caused additional degradation, including rising damp and salt deposits, as well as the infiltration of rainwater from near the windows, and these issues were also treated.

The 5th-floor room in Palazzo Pisani, now used for orchestra rehearsals, boasts very refined stuccowork and delicate plaster wall decoration from the second half of the 18th century. Endangered by its poor state of conservation, this ornate decoration was the subject of previous interventions that involved the use of methods and materials that were not ideal. The stucco reliefs were whitewashed over with thick layer of lime milk and animal glues that had yellowed and distorted the elegant and refined detailing. The bas-reliefs of Calvinus and Luther were reworked using a yellow material that had discolored and was blotchy in appearance. Previous infiltrations of rainwater from the roof had left stains on the walls, and damp that passed through from the exterior masonry allowed for the formation of salt deposits. A thick layer of dirt and grime and other non-original surface residues were carefully removed, isolated areas of losses to the stucco decoration were recomposed, and the water damage and salt deposits were also treated.

IVBC students work to restore the frescoes in the antechamber Adonis Room during the summer of 2023.

IVBC students work to restore the stuccowork in the orchestra rehearsal room during the summer of 2023.