Overview
- The Gallerie dell’Accademia has begun restoring Giovanni Bellini’s San Giobbe altarpiece in public view behind glass.
- The two-year project is budgeted at €500,000, with Venetian Heritage providing most of the funding and Italy’s culture ministry covering the rest.
- Conservators are stabilizing the 13-plank poplar support and using ultraviolet, infrared, and radiographic imaging to map past repairs before cleaning and revarnishing.
- The team is working in situ because the 15th-century panel is too fragile to move after long cracks and color shifts developed over time.
- After treatment, the museum plans to rehouse the 4.7-by-2.5-meter work in a former church space within its permanent display.