The Italian Ministry of Culture and the charities Venice in Peril and Venetian Heritage are joining forces to raise £400,000 to buy a ceiling panel that Giorgio Vasari painted for the Palazzo Corner Spinelli. The Allegory of Hope (1541-42) is the final missing panel from the Triumph of Virtues cycle the Tuscan artist made for the Corner (or Cornaro) family’s 15th-century palace in the San Marco area of Venice. It was owned by the British publisher Lord Weidenfeld, who died in January, and has been entrusted by his heirs to Christie’s for sale.
Scholars spent years looking for Vasari’s panels, which were removed from the palazzo and sold off to various private collectors. In 2013, the Allegory of Faith was bought for the Gallerie dell’Accademia, where most of the panels are housed either as long-term loans or as part of the Venetian museum’s permanent collection. The institution hopes to eventually reassemble and display the monumental painting.
The UK-based charity Venice in Peril is prepared to match the £25,000 it is looking to raise. To donate to the campaign, go to: www.veniceinperil.org/donate