View of the Island and Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, the Punta della Dogana, and the Church of Santa Maria della Salute (Primary Title)
Island and Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, the Punta Dogana and Santa Maria della Salute (Former Title)

Francesco Guardi, Italian, 1712 - 1793 (Artist)

before 1774
Italian
Oil on canvas
Unframed: 20 1/2 x 33 1/2 in. Framed: 30 x 42 x 2 1/2 in.
L2020.6.13
This panoramic veduta presents a south-facing view of the Venetian Lagoon seen from the mouth of the Grand Canal. While the monuments of the Punta della Dogana and the island of Giudecca are dimly visible in the fading light of the late afternoon, the facades of the church and the Benedictine monastery on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore are emphasized by strong contrasts of sunlight and shadow and their abstracted reflections in the glassy surface of the water. This picturesque setting ultimately serves as a mere background to the pageantry of marine activity that is front and center in Guardi’s composition. The foreground teems with the busy motions and shared efforts of fishermen and cargo handlers; meanwhile, a multitude of gondolas transports clients from island to island. These occupations were the lifeblood of Venice’s economic vitality, and the dark shadow cast by the Quay San Marco along the bottom of the picture plane quite literally underscores the primacy of these activities. As the site of the Doge’s Palace, the quay’s shadow was perhaps also intended to subtly evoke the governing presence of the republic’s supreme authority
The Jordan and Thomas A. Saunders III Collection

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