A RECTANGULAR POLYCHROME MOSAIC PANEL OF THE DEAD CHRIST

Alvise Gaetano (died 1631) was a Venetian mosaicist best known for his contributions to the interior decoration of Basilica San Marco, where he was employed from 1595 to 1631. There he produced mosaics from designs by many of the greatest painters of sixteenth century Venice, including Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, Salviati, Bassano and Il Pordenone. The influence of these Venetian artists is apparent in this piece, with its painterly approach to colour, and its use of grisaille, which was commonly used to emphasize the mortality of Christ in sixteenth and seventeenth century paintings.