Pala Feriale: the first “cover” for Basilica San Marco’s Pala d’Oro

In 1342 Doge Andrea Dandolo ordered the enhancements to the Pala d’Oro which resulted in its current configuration. In 1345 he commissioned Paolo Veneziano to create a “cover” for the altarpiece so that it would be protected on days when not on display (special occasions and high-feast days).

Paolo Veneziano, the pre-eminent Venetian painter in the 14th century, is widely regarded as the founder of the Venetian school of painting; the bridge between the Byzantine and Gothic traditions and the “nascent humanism of the early Renaissance.”

Paolo came from a family of painters: his father was a painter, as was his sons. His date of birth is unknown but, given that both his sons Giovanni and Luca signed the dated product discussed herein, scholars have used that as a basis to approximate his age. No consensus has emerged.

As discussed in my post on the Pala d’Oro, a pulley system was utilized to fold the top segment into the lower when the altarpiece was not in use. Veneziano would have to address that fact in his delivered solution.

Paolo met the requirements by creating two segments of wooden panels, each measuring 57 x 325 cm, and painting images of the dead Christ flanked by St. George, St Mark, the Virgin, St. John, St Peter, and St Nicholas on the top portion and scenes from the life of St Mark on the bottom portion.

Paolo Veneziano (with sons Giovanni and Luca), 
Pala Feriale, 1345

There is a marked contrast in the mood conveyed in the two segments, as is to be expected with the dead Christ centering the upper portion. The lower portion includes scenes such as the conveyance of St Mark’s body to Venice and the miraculous discovery of his missing body on the day of the consecration of the basilica.

“For most of its history the Pala d’Oro was hidden. It stood behind the altar and was covered for ordinary use by a painted wooden panel … That practice preserved it. Exposure to candle smoke, incense and handling is what destroys enamel and gilding, and the Pala spent most of the last seven hundred years behind a shutter” (byzantine culture.com).

Today Pala Feriale is displayed in the San Marco Museum. It was restored in 1995.