View of the Island of Giudecca with the Church of Il Santissimo Redentore (Primary Title)
View of the Island of Guidecca with the Church of The Most Holy Redeemer, Venice (Former Title)
Francesco Guardi, Italian, 1712 - 1793 (Artist)
This veduta depicts the island of Giudecca, separated from Venice’s central islands
by the Giudecca Canal, under a sparsely clouded sky on a tranquil morning. Guardi
captures this view of the Venetian Lagoon from the southern shore of the island of
Dorsoduro. The church of Il Santissimo Redentore (Most Holy Redeemer) and its
neighboring buildings seem to hover augustly between the tilting boat masts in the
foreground. This imposing site of religious worship was designed by Andrea Palladio
(1508–1580) as a votive church to commemorate the end of a plague that had afflicted
Venice between 1575 and 1576. Construction began the following year. Since the
church’s completion in 1592, it has been considered one of the city’s Renaissance
masterpieces. Palladio was venerated as one of Venice’s greatest architects during
Guardi’s time, and he was credited throughout Italy with having reintroduced the
aesthetic sensibility of ancient Roman ruins into modern art and architecture.
The Jordan and Thomas A. Saunders III Collection
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