The Healing of Anianus 1498

Cima da Conegliano painted "The Healing of Anianus," a large oil on panel, sometime before 1517. The painting presents a story from the New Testament Apocrypha, where Saint Mark heals a crippled cobbler named Anianus. Painted in Venice, the composition reveals an encounter between Eastern and Western cultures. Conegliano dresses his subjects in turbans and robes, referencing the Ottoman Empire's increasing presence in the Mediterranean. While religious paintings often serve to reinforce social hierarchies, Conegliano places the everyday experience of a disabled man at the painting's center. Notice the emotional tenor between Saint Mark and Anianus: the artist emphasizes their shared humanity, while the architecture in the background speaks to Venice's global ambitions. Conegliano asks the viewer to empathize with the personal and to consider how faith might offer solace amid societal tensions.