Relics/Icons/Paintings: A Very Short History of Venetian Painting

West Facade of St. Mark’s Basilica, Venice. Photograph Source: Zairon – Public Domain

This essay is for Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good

To understand the history of Venice, you need to know that there were three ways in which saints and other holy figures were presented in the churches. There were relics, bodily remains or objects associated with a person. Icons. And artworks. All three kinds of presentations are found in contemporary sacred culture. But until recently, art historians didn’t say much about relics.