The Lion of St Mark (detail)
by CARPACCIO, Vittore, Tempera on canvas
The Lion of St Mark, painted in 1516 for the Magistrato dei Camerlenghi in Rialto and today in the Doges’ Palace, is an imposing creation, standing with its hind legs in the water and its forelegs on dry land, one firmly resting on a rocky shore and the other holding up the book with the traditional inscription PAX/TIBI/MAR/CE/E/VANGELI/STA/MEUS.