Veneto-cretan School Late 16th - Early 17th Century, Saint Mark

Veneto-Cretan school
late 16th - early 17th century

Saint Mark
oil on canvas cm. 96x64

The patron saint of Venice is represented here standing, with the exceptionally small lion crouching to the right of his feet, in the lower corner of the painting, in an architectural background which incorporates, with some variations, the architecture of the Saint -Mark. Indeed, we find, on the left side, the Marcian portico and, clearly visible next to the saint, the high marble column surmounted by the winged lion. The paving is rendered by the chromatic contrast of the red and white plates where the chains of martyrdom rest in one corner.
To the left of the saint is a table, covered with a green tablecloth, with books and an inkwell, other typical attributes of Mark who, with his eyes turned to heaven, turns an ecstatic gaze towards Christ appearing in glory in the inside a cloud.
The painting, in good general condition, restored and relined, rightly dates back to the hand of a painter active in the Cretan Venetian region between the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century.