891 - Venice, Bacino di San Marco with Gondolas, Doge's Palace, Campanile and Salute, Veduta, 20th Century

Venice, Bacino di San Marco with Gondolas, Doge's Palace, Campanile and Salute, Veduta, 20th Century Oil on canvas, mounted on board/wood, indistinctly signed lower right, 20th century, view across the Bacino di San Marco with gondolas in the foreground, on the left a mooring with pole, on the right a gondola with cabin, behind them the waterfront with the Doge's Palace and the Campanile of San Marco, on the left the dome of Santa Maria della Salute, sky glowing yellow behind grey-blue clouds, age-appropriate condition, craquelure, canvas partly slightly wavy, retouching, partial paint losses, image 79.5x59.5 cm (HxW), framed, frame chipped, frame width 6 cm The veduta, the topographically exact city view, was developed in Venice from about 1721 by Canaletto into a leading genre; travellers on the Grand Tour took the views home as souvenirs. The view from the water towards the Doge's Palace and the Campanile with the church of the Salute is one of Canaletto's principal subjects and was taken up in the 19th and 20th centuries by Turner, Monet and countless travelling painters. The Venice veduta with gondolas before St Mark's Square is thus among the most frequently painted Italian city views, from the travel souvenir of the 19th century to the souvenir painting of the 20th century.