On the occasion of the loan of Vittore Carpaccio’s altarpiece, Saint George Slaying the Dragon, to the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart for the exhibition Carpaccio, Bellini und die Frührenaissance in Venedig, the Benedictine Community of San Giorgio Maggiore commissioned artist Nicola Samorì to create a new work to temporarily replace the renowned 16th-century masterpiece.
The artwork, titled Primo Martire (First Martyr), reinterprets the martyrdom of Saint Stephen, co-patron of the Monastery alongside Saint George, bringing it to the forefront of the composition. Drawing inspiration from Baroque models, Samorì combines traditional techniques with contemporary material interventions, creating a dialogue between past and present.
On the large lectern of the central badalone within the same chapel, a painting in stone is displayed: a thin slab of breccia stone opened like a book, originating from Vendôme, France. It reveals a heterogeneous chorus of mineralized fragments, resembling a fossilized explosion that seems to freeze the stones’ trajectory toward Saint Stephen’s body.
Additionally, a contemporary illuminated manuscript is currently being crafted. Traditionally produced in the Book Restoration Laboratory of the Abbey of Praglia, this work will be enriched by the artist and added to the collection of contemporary illuminated manuscripts donated to the Benedictine Community of San Giorgio Maggiore.
The exhibition is hosted in the Night Choir of the Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore, a private area of the Monastery better known today as the Cappella del Conclave (Conclave Chapel), named after it served as the venue for the 1800 cardinal assembly that elected Pope Pius VII.
Admission to the exhibition is free and accessible exclusively through guided tours, available on-site without prior reservation.
