The rhetoric of celebration in seventeenth century Venetian funerary monuments
This thesis investigates seventeenth century Venetian funerary monuments as representing the Republic's celebrative imagery. Going beyond the traditional interpretation of these monuments as a display of funerary memory, a series of case studies provided in six chapters examines them as rhetorical devices which celebrated Venice and instilled subtle forms of its republican propaganda. Chapter One focuses on early seventeenth century ducal monuments and the republican ethos, scrutinising their function as ideological instruments which asserted the grandeur of Venice through their celebration of the doges. Chapter Two analyses the architectural and visual sources of the monument to Doge Giovanni Pesaro, a crucial model for later funerary monuments, focusing on the interaction between sculpture, architecture and the viewer. The comparative reading of contemporary panegyric poems of the Pesaro monument demonstrates how it was perceived as a living presence which was capable of eliciting the involvement of the viewer and gaining his or her persuasion. Monuments to the Venetian captains Caterino Cornaro and Antonio Barbaro are investigated in Chapter Three as significant examples which embody the notion of sacrifice as an act of both civic and religious piety. This forms the basis of the fabrication of the Venetian identity of the newly ennobled families and merchants through the memorials on the facades of San Moise and Santa Maria dei Derelitti which are analysed in Chapter Four. Chapters Five and Six explore Antonio Gaspari's project proposals for Doge Francesco Morosini and the Valier family, which remained unexecuted. Inspired by Roman Baroque architecture, Gaspari enhanced the aggrandisement of the ducal families to a quasi imperialist state. Nevertheless, the actual Valier monument devised by Andrea Tirali remained an indirect celebration of Venice through the celebration of the doge's achievements. The six chapters thus demonstrate how funerary monuments create a public imagery which complements the so called "myth of Venice"