https://venice.dahvc.org/fall-2020/files/original/September_16_Visual_Analysis_of_work_from_Correr_and_Ducal_Palace_/The_Lion_of_the_St._Mark/Lion_of_St._Mark.jpeg 41a00b5b0b29fdf01b6aebe515cce364 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 16: Visual Analysis of work from Correr and Ducal Palace Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Lion of the St. Mark Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Vittore Carpaccio Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Benezit Dictionary of Artists. "Carpaccio, Vittore." Last modified October 31, 2011. https://www.oxfordartonline.com/benezit/view/10.1093/benz/9780199773787.001.0001/acref-9780199773787-e-00032555. Cook, Albert. "Carpaccio's Animals." The Centennial Review 27, no. 4 (1983): 224-43. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23739724. Fortini-Brown, Patricia. Venetian Narrative Painting in the Age of Carpaccio. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994. Grasman, Edward. "A Salute to You: Expansion under the Wings of Saint Mark." Artibus Et Historiae 33, no. 66 (2012): 121-31. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23509747. Image Source: Artstor, accessed September 15, 2020. https://library.artstor.org/asset/ARTSTOR_103_41822000478501. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Image Source: Artstor, accessed September 15, 2020. https://library.artstor.org/asset/ARTSTOR_103_41822000478501. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1516 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Vik Manocha Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Tempera on canvas, 130.0 x 368.0 cm Type The nature or genre of the resource Painting Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Palazzo Ducale, Venice, Italy Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Public Domain. Image Source: Artstor, accessed September 15, 2020. https://library.artstor.org/asset/ARTSTOR_103_41822000478501. Description An account of the resource Vittore Carpaccio (c. 1465 – c. 1520) painted The Lion of St. Mark in 1516 on commission for the Palazzo dei Camerlenghi near the Rialto district [1]. It features a large lion in its center––which represents the Republic’s patron saint St. Mark and therefore the Republic itself––holding a book inscribed with the message “Peace unto you, Mark my evangelist” [2]. Behind the beast is a detailed landscape of Venice, showing key centers of power like the Ducal Palace (home of Venice’s leader, the Doge), St. Mark’s Campanile, and the Arsenal of the city. This painting serves a two-fold purpose, which we can analyze with aid from the location at which it was originally displayed as well as the historical context. Its first layer of meaning comes from its placement in the Palazzo dei Camerlenghi. The large building was not a personal residence but rather a set of offices used for clerical purposes. Thus, the vast size of the work gave all visitors an impression of the sheer power of the family that commissioned it––and whose coat of arms can be seen clearly below the lion’s front foot. The self-promotion of power, however, was not limited to just that of the administrative sense. It also projected the power of Venice. To understand the true intent of Carpaccio’s piece, we have to look at the events directly preceding it. In 1509, several political and religious powers formed the League of Cambrai to counter Venice’s growing influence in the region [3]. Through a series of wars, the Republic had lost much of its territorial holdings and so desperately needed to reassert its dominance or risk collapse [4]. Thus, the Lion of St. Mark––which appears to be coming out of the sea (its traditional area of strength) and onto the land––expresses its desire to have dominion over both. It at the same time reinforces the myth of Venice: although the ships behind it flex its military might, the book’s inscription emphasizes its divine protection as the holiest city in Italy. [1] "Carpaccio, Vittore," Benezit Dictionary of Artists, last modified October 31, 2011. https://www.oxfordartonline.com/benezit/view/10.1093/benz/9780199773787.001.0001/acref-9780199773787-e-00032555. [2] Albert Cook, "Carpaccio's Animals," The Centennial Review 27, no. 4 (1983): 238. [3] Edward Grasman, "A Salute to You: Expansion under the Wings of Saint Mark," Artibus Et Historiae 33, no. 66 (2012): 122. [4] Patricia Fortini-Brown, Venetian Narrative Painting in the Age of Carpaccio (New Haven: Yale University Press), 1994, 54.