Art and patronage at Santa Maria dei Carmini, Venice, 1500–1666

The subject of my research is art patronage at Santa Maria dei Carmini in Venice between 1500 and 1666. The Carmini was founded in the 1280s by the Carmelites and was at that time the third largest basilica in the city. It remained throughout the Renaissance one of the largest religious communities in Venice. Like the larger mendicant Orders, the Carmelites attracted a great deal of interest and their church buildings were decorated lavishly. Contemporary descriptions indicate that the Carmini was home to works of art by some of the greatest practitioners in Venice during these years, with masterpieces by Tintoretto, Cima da Conegliano, Lorenzo Lotto, Andrea Schiavone, Lazzaro Sebastiano and Benedetto Diana. Subsequently, the convent was suppressed in 1806 and the church was turned over to parochial use. Although much has been lost from its rich history, as in much of Venice, the remaining works are outstanding.

This project will fill in some outstanding lacunae in our knowledge about the history of this church in particular, and about the piety and culture of Renaissance Venice more generally. It should in particular extend the detailed studies that have been carried out already on the Franciscans and Dominicans to the next largest of the mendicant Orders. Significantly, my research shows that the Carmelites were as proactive as the other mendicant Orders in Venice; however, they were considerably more regional in their approach to art and dedications, using local devotions, especially in the earlier period, rather than their own ‘Order-wide’ cults. A greater understanding of how the Carmelites selected and combined ideas and traditions from their own and other mendicant Orders, and integrated these with local practices and saint cults, can tell us a lot about the ways that people work ambitiously to adapt the innovations of larger institutions while maintaining important regional ties to the city in which they live and work.

Perhaps the most important of my research goals in Rome was to transcribe the section of the Apostolic Visitation preserved at the Archivio Segreto Vaticano that describes the Carmini in Venice. This was a report compiled by a bishop during his visit to the churches of Venice in 1581. It contains information about the dedication of altars and the presence of relics, and comments on the state of repair and the ‘appropriateness’ of the altars and their decorations: it is an important source particularly for works that have been moved, lost, sold or otherwise altered in subsequent years. Secondarily, I wished to consult the small archive of the Institutum Carmelitanum, which houses a collection specific to the history and development of the Carmelite Order, as well as the prodigious art historical collections of Rome's various libraries. It was also an excellent opportunity to make a thorough contextual study of the decorations of Carmelite churches outside the Veneto.

The Apostolic Visitation has provided information that corroborates currently held theories about the patronage of some of the altarpieces in the Carmini as well as contributing new ideas. It can also end a debate about the dedications of certain altars, which is extremely interesting for our understanding of lay piety and patronage in the period. Wider reading and contextual studies in Rome allowed me to develop my understanding of Carmelite patronage and appropriately situate their practices at the Venice Carmini.

It remains only to thank the good people of the British School at Rome who made this not only a productive and valuable, but also an extremely lively and enjoyable, research project.