Josef Carl Berthold Püttner, 1821 Plan, Böhmen - 1881 Vöslau

VIEW FROM THE PIAZZETTA SAN MARCO TO THE PUNTA DELLA DOGANA Oil on canvas. 103 x 151 cm. Signed and dated "1862-1863" lower right. In a magnificent gilded frame. The foreground is enlivened by a rich cast of figures gathered together in the light of the setting sun, some of whom are leaving the piazzetta in gondolas from the shore. Püttner's stay in Venice in the early 1860s is documented in other paintings. The present painting captivates above all with its atmospheric depiction of a very busy evening, which gives a vivid picture of everyday life in the Serenissima in the mid-19th century. The artist initially trained as a porcelain painter in Carlsbad before moving to Vienna. He specialized in landscape and marine paintings, and numerous journeys took him to the Netherlands, Italy, Rome, Heligoland, Iceland, South and North America and to the remotest corners of Tahiti and Tonga. In 1842 he exhibited regularly at the exhibitions of the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. From 1861 he was a member of the Vienna Künstlerhaus. (1401671) Josef Carl Berthold Püttner, 1821 Plan, Bohemia - 1881 Vöslau VIEW OF THE PIAEZZTTA SAN MARCO TOWARDS THE PUNTA DELLA DOGANA Oil on canvas. 103 x 151 cm. Signed and dated "1862-1863" lower right.