In the third and last volume of The Stones of Venice, Ruskin praises the church as “an interesting example of Renaissance Gothic, the traceries of the windows being very rich and quaint,” but he concentrates on the paintings in the church, which
contains four most important Tintorets: “The Last Judgment,” “The Worship of the Golden Calf,” “The Presentation of the Virgin,” and “Martyrdom of St. Agnes.” The first two are among his largest and mightiest works, but grievously injured by damp and neglect; and unless the traveller is accustomed to decipher the thoughts in a picture patiently, he need not hope to derive any pleasure from them. But no pictures will better reward a resolute study. The following account of the “Last judgment,” given in the second volume of Modern Painters, will be useful in enabling the traveller to enter into the meaning of the picture, but its real power is only to be felt by patient examination of it” (11.395).
More of Ruskin's Venice
- St Mark’s Cathedral
- The Palazzo Ducale, Venice
- The Scuola de San Rocco
- Palazzi
- On the Grand Canal
- Leaving the Grand Canal
- On the way to Venice from the mainland
- Venice: Details and Corners
Photographs 2020. [You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
Ruskin, John. The Works. Ed. E. T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn. “The Library Edition.” 39 vols. London: George Allen, 1903-1912.
Last Modified 22 March 2020