After the fall of the Venetian Republic, the French government expropriated a group of buildings belonging to the Church, the monastery, and the guild of Santa Maria della Carità. These spaces were repurposed to house a collection of paintings gathered from public offices, suppressed religious orders, guilds, and churches across Venice.

The selection was overseen by Peter Edwards, former chief restorer of paintings for the Republic. A visit to the Ducal Palace and the extraordinary collection preserved within the Accademia gives some sense of the immense artistic wealth Venice possessed in the late eighteenth century. At that time, a commission was appointed to review the government’s artistic holdings and chose to preserve only the finest works—leaving the remainder to decay.

Origins of the Guild of Charity

The Guild of Our Lady of Charity, the earliest of the six major Scuole of Venice, was founded in 1260 with the mission of ransoming Christian captives from Moorish and pirate hands.

Above the portal of the outer cloister are three early stone reliefs:

• St Leonard, patron saint of captives and slaves
• The Virgin and Child, with kneeling guild members
• St Christopher

The inner court, accessed from the corridor of the Istituto delle Belle Arti, reveals Palladio’s unfinished cloisters—among the finest examples of brick architecture in northern Italy.

Of the original guild rooms, only two survive:

• Room XX, the former Guest Chamber
• Room I

Both preserve magnificent fifteenth-century ceilings. The ceiling in Room I, carved by Giampietro of Vicenza, is adorned with eight-winged cherubs—once misinterpreted as a visual pun on the name of a supposed benefactor.

Room I – The Birth of Venetian Painting

Room I introduces visitors to the earliest Venetian masters:

• Jacobello del Fiore
• Giambono
• Lorenzo Veneziano
• Simone da Cusighe
• Andrea and Quirizio da Murano

Their works remain strongly influenced by Byzantine models and give only faint hints of the later splendour of the Vivarini and Bellini schools.

Room II – The Rise of the Masters

Before entering Room II, the eye is immediately drawn to Titian’s Assumption (No. 40). This monumental altarpiece announces a new artistic language—dynamic, emotional, and powerfully composed. The ascending Virgin draws the entire composition upward in a masterful orchestration of movement and colour.

When first displayed at the Frari, the painting caused a sensation and marked a turning point in Venetian art. Nevertheless, extensive restoration has softened and coarsened parts of the original work—a fate shared by many old master paintings.

This room allows direct comparison of three treatments of the same sacred subject:

• Giovanni Bellini (No. 38)
• Cima da Conegliano (No. 36)
• Paolo Veronese (No. 37)

Other highlights include:

• Tintoretto, The Death of Abel (No. 41), admired by Ruskin for its sombre power
• The Miracle of St Mark (No. 42), a dramatic and innovative composition that initially puzzled its patrons
• Carpaccio, Presentation in the Temple (No. 44), which Ruskin considered the finest painting in the Accademia

Rooms III–V – The Bellini Circle

Rooms III and IV present miscellaneous Italian paintings and drawings. In Room V, the influence of the Bellini family dominates.

Key works include:

• Basaiti, The Agony in the Garden (No. 69)
• Marco Marziale, The Supper at Emmaus (No. 76), showing the influence of Dürer
• Benedetto Diana, Virgin and Child with Saints (No. 82)
• Bissolo, Christ Presenting the Crown of Thorns to St Catherine of Siena (No. 79)

Religious symbolism and Venetian tradition intersect in St Anthony of Padua Enshrined in a Tree (No. 104), a subject rooted in both legend and local devotional customs.

Rooms VI–IX – From Friuli to the High Renaissance

Room VI contains minor Dutch works, while Room VII focuses on Friulian painters. Its masterpiece is Palma Vecchio’s Sacra Conversazione (No. 147), likely unfinished at his death.

Room IX glows with the grandeur of the sixteenth century:

• Veronese, The Supper in the House of Levi (No. 203)
• Tintoretto, The Crucifixion (No. 213)
• The Descent from the Cross (No. 217)

These works reveal Venice at the height of its theatrical, colour-rich artistic language.

Room X – Bonifazio and Venetian Life

Room X is largely devoted to Bonifazio and his workshop. Among the highlights:

• The Adoration of the Magi (No. 281)
• The Slaughter of the Innocents (No. 319)
• The Rich Man’s Feast (No. 291), a powerful moral narrative blending luxury and impending doom

This room also contains Titian’s final work, The Deposition (No. 400), completed after his death by Palma Giovane.

Rooms XI–XIV – From Daily Life to Grandeur

These rooms cover later developments:

• Landscapes and genre scenes by the Bassani
• Seventeenth- and eighteenth-century works, including Pietro Longhi
• Tiepolo, Guardi, and Canaletto

In Corridor I appears The Tempest Calmed by Saints Mark, George and Nicholas (No. 516), a work long debated by critics.

Room XV – The Miracles of the Holy Cross

Specially designed to house a monumental cycle commissioned around 1490, this room displays narrative paintings by Gentile Bellini, Mansueti, Carpaccio, and others.

These works are invaluable visual records of Venetian architecture, costume, ritual, and daily life—especially Procession in the Piazza (No. 567), which preserves the appearance of St Mark’s Square in 1496.

Room XVI – Carpaccio’s St Ursula Cycle

Painted between 1490 and 1495, Carpaccio’s cycle narrates the tragic legend of St Ursula. The most beloved panel, The Dream of St Ursula (No. 578), captures a moment of quiet grace and spiritual intimacy.

Every detail—furniture, clothing, light—contributes to a timeless atmosphere of purity and devotion.

Rooms XVII–XVIII – Vivarini, Cima, and Bellini

These rooms present masterpieces by:

• Alvise Vivarini
• Bartolomeo Vivarini
• Cima da Conegliano
• Mantegna, St George and the Dragon (No. 588)

Room XVIII gathers works by the Bellini family, including The Virgin of the Trees and a series of allegorical panels painted for a wedding chest (cassone).

Rooms XIX–XX – The Final Ascent

After minor collections in Room XIX, we descend to Room XX, the former guest chamber. Its gilded ceiling is among the most beautiful in Venice.

Here hangs Titian’s Presentation of the Virgin, restored to its original location. Despite Ruskin’s harsh judgment, the painting remains a fascinating blend of sacred narrative and Venetian realism.

Closing Thoughts

The Accademia is not merely a museum—it is a layered archive of Venetian faith, politics, craftsmanship, and imagination. To walk its rooms is to witness the evolution of Western painting from medieval devotion to Renaissance grandeur, all through the unmistakable lens of Venice.