Bacino di San Marco with the Dogana del Mare and Santa Maria della Salute
c. 1793
Medium
Pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, over traces of graphite(?), on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
43 × 64.6 cm (16 15/16 × 25 7/16 in.)
Classification
ink or chalk wash
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
22309
Art Historical Context
This evocative drawing captures the expanse of Venice’s Bac di San Marco, with the distinctive silhouette of the Dogana del Mare customs house and the grand dome of Santa Maria della Salute rising along the waterfront. Created around 1793 by imitator of Francesco Guardi, the sheet reflects the popularity of Venetian view paintings, or ved, at the close of eighteenth century. Guardi had perfected these atmospheric scenes, and this work carries forward his interest in the play of light on water and the lively rhythm the city’s architecture, even if rendered by a later hand. Executed in pen and ...