in 1548 Tintoretto was commissioned to paint a large decoration for the Scuola di S. Marco: The Miracle of the Slave, the painting was a triumphant success ...

2. in 1548 Tintoretto was commissioned to paint a large decoration for the Scuola di S. Marco: The Miracle of the Slave
the painting was a triumphant success ...
Tommaso Rangone, “guardian grande” of the Scuola di San Marco, commissioned Tintoretto in 1562 to paint
a cycle depicting episodes associated with the saint, which the artist had completed by 1566

3. Tintoretto
Legends of Saint Mark, Scuola Grande di San Marco

5. The Miracle of the Slave, The Miracle of Saint Mark Freeing the Slave
1548
Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice
the painting is the first of a series of works, painted in 1548 for the Scuola Grande di San Marco …
the subject of the huge canvas is the miraculous appearence of St Mark to rescue one of his devotees,
a servant of a knight of Provence, who had been condemned to having his legs broken and his eyes put out
for worshipping the relics of the saint against his master's will

7. the figure of the slave lying on the ground,
the dumbfounded executioner holding aloft the broken implements of torture,
the knight of Provence starting up from his seat out of the shadow into the light

9. while the figure of St Mark swoops down from above ...

18. Saint Mark saving a Saracen from shipwreck
1562-1566
Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice
a fascinating work …

20. a roiling sea during the storm, giant waves swollowing men and ships
and
the miraculous rescuing of a Saracen by Saint Mark, invoked during a storm

22. the contorted bodies of sailors shocked by the fury of the elements
Tommaso Rangone, the Guardian Grande of the Scuola di San Marco and the man who commissioned the painting,
is shown with a white beard and the golden vest of a Knight of Saint Mark

29. Discovery of the Body of Saint Mark
1562-1566
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan
the Venetians are removing corpses from tombs in search for Saint Mark’s body

32. Saint Mark appears surrounded by a faint halo and begs them to stop, his body has been found and lies pale at
his feet
the patron Rangone kneeling humbly, acknowledging the miracle
a man possessed by devils adds to the miraculous tone of the episode

40. The Removal of the Body of Saint Mark, St Mark's Body Brought to Venice
1562-1566
Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice
the moment when the Evangelist’s disciples save his body from being burned,
thanks to a sudden miraculous hailstorm which sends his persecutors fleeing

42. a phantasmagoric scene ...
the roiling red sky is heavy with stormclouds
the storm frightens the pagans, and extinguishes the pyre which they had prepared for Saint Mark

44. three men carry the body of the saint
the man holding the saint's shoulder is Tommaso Rangone
a curiously prominent role is played by the dromedary that has escaped from his owner

46. the church is a revival of the facade of San Gimignano, wing of Saint Mark's Basilica in Venice ...
a summary of the story of the martyr, from the theft of the body to his final burial in Venice

55. olga_oes
Tintoretto, Legends of Saint Mark, Scuola
Grande di San Marco
images and text credit www.
Music The Piano Guys Code Name Vivaldi
(Bourne Soundtrack Vivaldi Double Cello
Concerto)
created olga.e.
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