Santa Maria Della Salute was built as a thanks or offering to the Virgin Mary against he plague which had taken almost a third of the Venice's population in 1630. The foundation stone was laid by Doge Nicolo Contarini who himself died a day after the laying. The building was built on a foundation of over 100,000 wood pilons was not complete until almost fifty years later. The architect chosen in a competition was Baldsarre Longhena who was under thirty. He would not live to see Salute's consecration in 1687. Artist who worked on the exterior include Francesco Cavrioli, Juste le Court, Michele Ungaro and Tommaso Ruer. With the exception of le Court know almost nothing about these artists.
Baldassare Longhena
b. 1598 - d. 1682
Longhena was the son of a stonemason. He studied architecture under the guidance of Vincenzo Scamozzi. His projects for Venice make up an integral part of its Baroque heritage. His magnificent design for the Church of Santa Maria della Salute was selected in 1630. The church was built to commemorate deliverance from a plague that had killed more than 45,000 Venetians. Its position on the Grand Canal next to the Dogana di Mare guaranteed instant visibility and fame. He completed the Procuratie Nuove in the Piazza San Marco, which had been begun by Vincenzo Scamozzi. Longhena also designed the Ca' Pesaro (begun 1652, finished by Antonio Gaspari), and Ca' Bon (now called the Ca'Rezzonico, begun 1667 and finished by Giorgio Massari). He designed everything but the facade of the Scalzi Church. His altars and tombs can be found in churches throughout Venice.
Juste le Court
b. Ypres 1623 - d. Venice 1679
Le Court was the son of the sculptor Jean Le Court. His first known work is 'The Virgin Mary' in the Antwerp Cathedral. He left Amsterdam for Rome and eventually settled in Venice around 1655. One of many foreign artists, in his first known Venetian work le Court created the marble figures of Strength and Justice for the monument to Alvise Mocenigo in San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti. He attached himself to the architect Baldassare Longhena and created a number of works for him. Perhaps his crowning achievement is the high altar at Santa Maria della Salute. He created several funeral monuments including one for Caterino Cornaro in Padua. His last known works were sculptures for the high altar of Andrea della Zirada in Venice.
Francesco Cavrioli
b. 1630 - d. 1670
He was a sculptor whose contemporaries included Juste le Court, Melchior Barthel and Bernardo Falcone. Together with others, they provided a number of impressive Baroque monuments for churches and private patrons throughout the Venetian Empire in the 17th Century. Two of Cavrioli's most notable collaborations were in the Longhena-designed Vendramin Chapel in San Pietro di Castello, and the figures for the Longhena altar in SS. Giovanni e Paolo, both Venice.
Tommaso Ruer
Active in Venice, second half of the 17th Century
Tommaso Ruer was originally from the Tyrol, one of several northern European sculptors to make his mark on Venice. He worked in both wood and marble. His sculptures decorate several important buildings in Venice, including the Ospedaletto, the Giovanelli chapel in the Scalzi church, and the facade of the Basilica della Salute.
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1) Salute Exterior - The Plague - Baldsarre Longhena [125]
