Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Renaissance art museum in Venice, Italy
Scuola Grande di San Rocco is a Renaissance palazzo and museum that rises three stories, with an exterior of marble columns, stone reliefs, and finely worked window frames. Inside, a wide staircase leads to upper halls where walls and ceilings are almost entirely covered with large-scale paintings.
The Venetian Republic elevated the confraternity to Great School status in 1480, prompting construction of the current building between 1517 and 1549 under several architects. Tintoretto won the commission to decorate the interior in 1564 and worked for more than two decades completing the cycle.
The name honors Saint Roch of Montpellier, a medieval pilgrim venerated as protector against plague. The confraternity that built the structure devoted itself to caring for sick Venetians and maintained a network of charitable institutions across the city.
The museum opens daily and offers audio guides in several languages that accompany the tour through the different halls. Reduced rates are available for students, seniors, and groups that register before visiting.
Tintoretto submitted no model for the decoration contest but instead installed a finished ceiling painting directly to win the jury. The artist later waived his fee and worked instead for an annual pension to complete what became his life's work.
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