Venice, St. Marco Basin - Italian school of the late18th century

Venice, St. Mark's Basin
Entourage of Francesco Guardi
(Venice 1712-1793)
Oil on canvas
Period: late 18th century
Canvas cm. 57 x 42
Frame cm. 78 x 62

The painting depicts the magnificent view of the famous Palaces and monuments that overlook the waters of St. Mark's Basin.
It is the most spectacular and certainly the most iconic image of the City.
Venice is presented in all its unsurpassed and surreal beauty, majestic and dreamlike, a destination dreamed of by all travellers.
The Molo del Bacino is full of boats and typical characters of the Serenissima. In the extraordinary sequence of famous buildings, the Biblioteca Marciana, the Bell Tower of San Marco and the Square with the Basilica, the Columns of San Marco and San Todaro stand out, and on the Riva degli Schiavoni the imposing Palazzo Ducale with the Palazzo delle Prigioni next to it, ending with the buildings half-hidden by the sails of the boats, which now house the most renowned hotel in the City, the fabulous Hotel Danieli.
It is the fantastic context described in the most important works of the great Venetian masters of the 18th century, among whom Canaletto and Francesco Guardi are the main protagonists. The painting must be attributed precisely to the particular artistic vein of the latter and to the hand of an artist from his entourage.
The characteristic painting of Guardi, with very personal features imbued with decadent notes and romanticism, created a school and was imitated without stopping both by his contemporaries and by the artists of the 19th and 20th centuries, so much so that it became the most representative of Venetian vedutism.
Unlike Canaletto, Guardi's works avoid an almost photographic reproduction of the views, and transfer onto the canvas the emotions and state of mind of the Artist towards the city he loves. Francesco Guardi, precisely because of his propensity to privilege sentiment over pure pictorial technique, is considered a precursor of Impressionism.
The Author of this splendid canvas, in addition to a notable miniaturist ability, highlights an excellent predisposition for architectural compositions with the rendering of a masterly volumetric effect, without forgetting to create that fantastic atmosphere that characterizes Venice and its uniqueness.
It should be emphasized the exceptional pictorial level achieved in the depiction of the characters and the various boats, which reach a rare similarity with the autographed works of Guardi.
The painting is in first canvas, in perfect condition and is complete with a beautiful carved and gilded wooden frame.