Doge Alvise Mocenigo and Family before the Madonna and Child

The kneeling figure of Doge Alvise Mocenigo is identifiable by comparison to his official portraits. Alvise was the fourth member of the Mocenigo family to become doge (the elected chief of state) of Venice. Opposite him is his wife, Loredana. The standing older man to the left is the doge’s brother Giovanni. The two young men at far right are Giovanni’s sons Tommaso and Alvise.

Jacopo Tintoretto and his studio painted several other works commissioned by the Mocenigo family. In this large painting, the portraits are strong and expressive; the forms of the family members have a sense of weight and presence and include areas of virtuoso brushwork, such as the representation of the ermine sleeves of the two older men.

The picture is a variant of the official votive paintings that decorated the Palazzo Ducale and other government buildings in Venice. They are part of a long tradition of Venetian paintings that show the patrons venerating the Virgin and Child or being presented to them by a patron saint.