It is a masterpiece of art but also a work of symbolic relevance that (from 13 November to 13 February) reaches the Museum of Santa Caterina from Kunsthistorisches in Vienna. This is the famous Portrait of Doge Francesco Erizzo, the undisputed masterpiece of Bernardo Strozzi. The project "A masterpiece for Treviso - the Director of the Civic Museums Fabrizio Malachin highlights - is" one of the fruits of the network of connections that the Treviso Civics are weaving with the great European museums. Strozzi's masterpiece comes to Treviso from the Kunsthistorisches following the loan to the Viennese museum of the Treviso artist. Portrait of Sperone Speroni by Titian. "Francesco Erizzo - underline Mario Conte, Mayor of Treviso and Councilor Lavinia Colonna Preti, was the doge of the economic restart and artistic in Venice after the great plague of 1630. He was elected on the first ballot practically unanimously, confirming a decidedly rare and undisputed popularity and approval, destined to never fail.

The period of his dogado was among the most fortunate and happy in Venice, with the very strong resumption, after the drama of the epidemic, of economic, artistic and playful activities. His figure remained a recognized symbol of social harmony and the state. The presence of 'a doge in Treviso' is also a tribute to the 1600 years since the founding of the city of Venice ". The Portrait of Francesco Erizzo by Strozzi, allows to enhance a among the most significant sections of the civic collections: over 50 portraits with works by Lotto, Tiziano, Tintoretto, Palma il Giovane. The doge therefore finds his place of honor in the portrait gallery, among other figures with an important institutional role (some usually kept in the deposits) such as Senators, Procurators and officers. "The event also anticipates the forthcoming publication of the third volume of the scientific catalog of museums dedicated to the 17th and 18th centuries. A commitment that the Institute is carrying out thanks to the collaboration of the Friends of the Museums and Monuments of Treviso, and of numerous scholars ”highlights Director Malachin. Bernardo Strozzi represents the doge Erizzo in his third age. Sergio Marinelli, who studied the work for a long time, highlights how in the painting the doge status is wonderfully highlighted by the dress, almost a “uniform”, naturally sumptuous. With fabrics and precious colors of red, the white of the ermine, the golden yellow. Approach, almost in contrast, to the serene and detached features of the face, not idealized, caught in the tiredness of his old age. The doge who appears to you as a "Santa Claus of the State, father figure and certainly reliable".