View of Venice with the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice 19th century

View of Venice with the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore

Follower of Canaletto (Venice, 1697 – Venice, 1768)
Venice - 19th century

oil on canvas
29 x 39 cm. - Framed 40 x 50 cm.

Well executed, characterised by a palette of bright colours and a soft play of light and shade emphasised by a pleasant luminosity, the canvas - painted in the 19th century - is an interesting evocation of the refined Venetian vedutism.

It is a very interesting glimpse of Venice, a view of the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, located in front of St Mark's Square and bordered by the Giudecca Canal and the St Mark's Canal. In the centre stands the majestic facade of the Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore, designed by Andrea Palladio, an essential element of the panorama that can be seen from St Mark's Square and in many paintings by landscape painters.

The painting, with its precise brushstrokes and the architecture defined in miniature with good veduta technique, is typical of the veduta production of artists who were inspired by the great Antonio Canal, known as Canaletto (1697-1768), the diamond tip of 18th century vedutism.

Works like ours, in particular, were produced in Venetian workshops in the 19th century, to satisfy collectors and refined travellers, especially English and German, but also French, who visited the city during their ‘Voyage d'Italie’, eager to possess an image of Venice in its most relaxed and characteristic dimension.

They were often commissioned in small sizes, to allow them to be transported with luggage, while now these small ‘postcards’ have become highly sought after and appreciated by modern collectors.