This grand Gothic church contains three of the great paintings
in Venice. Try to approach Titian's Assumption from the far end
of the nave so that you can appreciate its full dramatic effect.
It was unveiled in 1518 and immediately established Titian's
reputation as one of the greatest painters in Europe. Note how
cleverly the painter has integrated the reds and golds with the
surrounding architecture.
Ten years later Titian painted the
Pesaro altarpiece in the left aisle. He defied convention by
placing the Virgin off-centre at the apex of the two diagonals.
In the Sacristy off the right transept hangs Bellini's Madonna
and Child with Saints, which so impressed Durer on his visit
to Venice in 1506 that he copied the four saints in his last
major painting. The right transept also houses a brutally realistic
wooden statue of St John the Baptist by Donatello.
