A View of Venice
1891
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
Accession Number
1968.120.1
Tags
About this artwork
With rich colors and calligraphic brushstrokes, Thomas Moran dissolves the clouds, architecture, and reflections of Venice into a tapestry of swirls and scribbles. Moran built his reputation by painting dramatic records of the mountains and waterfalls of the American West. He then traveled to Italy to renew his creative spirit, first visiting in 1886. In this vista of the entrance to the Grand Canal, he takes artistic license with architecture and topography, making subtle adjustments so that ot...
About the Artist
Thomas Moran · 1837–1926
Thomas Moran (1837–1926) was an American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School whose dramatic paintings of the American West played a pivotal role in the creation of the national parks. Born in Bolton, Lancashire, England, he emigrated with his family to Philadelphia as a child. He was largely self-taught, though he apprenticed briefly with a wood engraver and studied the work of J.M.W...