Palazzo Ducale

Date: founded 9th century; expansion 14th-16th centuries; expanded interior decorations from 16th-17th centuries
Image View Description: Interior: View of Senate Chamber
Material/Technique: stone
, Material/Technique: marble
, Material/Technique: brick
Work Type: architecture
Culture: Italian
Culture: Venetian
Location: Venice (Italy)
Notes: This hall was also known as the Sala dei Pregadi, because the Doge asked the members of the Senate to take part in the meetings held here. The Senate which met in this chamber was one of the oldest public institutions in Venice; it had first been founded in the 13th century and then gradually evolved over time, until by the 16th century it was the body mainly responsible for overseeing political and financial affairs in such areas as manufacturing industries, trade and foreign policy. In effect, it was a more limited sub-committee of the Great Council, and its members were generally drawn from the wealthiest Venetian families. The refurbishment after the 1574 fire took place during the 1580s, and once the new ceiling had been completed work started on the pictorial decoration, which seems to have been finished by 1595. In the works produced for this room by Tintoretto, Christ is clearly the predominant figure; perhaps this is a reference to the Senate conclave which elected the Doge, who was then seen as being under the protection of the Son of God. The room also contains four paintings by Jacopo Palma il Giovane, which are linked with specific events of the Venetian history.
Image Source: Photography by the Media Center for Art History, Department of Art History and Archaeology, © The Trustees of Columbia University
Photographer: Cassy Juhl
Record ID: ven_doge_sala_del_senato_2


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