Emile NOIROT (1854 -1924) - Venice

Émile NOIROT (1853-1924)
The Lagoon in Venice, 1899
Oil on canvas signed lower right, 30 x 53 cm

This canvas painted by the artist Émile Noirot delicately captures a panoramic view of Venice during a bright and calm day. The scene is dominated by the shimmering waters of the Venetian lagoon, on which a small sailboat is moving, identifiable by its white sail dazzling with light.
In the background, the emblematic contours of the floating city stand out, with in particular the silhouette of the bell tower of St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace evoking the characteristic architecture of the Serenissima. Here, the city seems to be bathed in a diffuse, almost misty light giving the canvas a soft and timeless atmosphere.
The sky occupies much of the composition, with textured touches of pink, white, pale blue, and pearly gray, reflecting variations in natural lighting and atmospheric effects of the air. Émile Noirot favours a luminous and soothing chromatic range: aquatic blues and greens mingle with touches of white, wonderfully reproducing the reflections on the water and the foam of the wavelets. The painter adopts here a deliberately impressionist touch in line with the legacy of Monet and Renoir.
Among these many distinctions, Émile Noirot was appointed painter of the Navy in 1899, which attests to his undeniable talent for restoring water.