De brand in de wijk van San Marcuola, Venetië, 28 november 1789

About this artwork

drager: hoogte 22,5 cm x breedte 36,5 cm x dikte 3,5 cm

Art Historical Context

Francesco Guardi recorded the fire that broke out in Venice’s San Marcuola district on the night of 28 November 1789. Living in the city at the time, he turned his attention to the sudden emergency rather than to the usual views of canals and festivals, noting how quickly the flames spread through the tightly packed houses along the water. In this small oil on canvas, now in the Rijksmuseum, the painter places the glowing line of fire low on the right so that it pushes against the dark mass of the crowd. The figures stand in a long, uneven row that stretches from the foreground into the smoke, their backs turned toward the viewer; a few kneel at the canal edge while others push small boats into the water. The contrast between the steady row of dark coats and the scattered red streaks of flame makes the scale of the event clear without showing individual faces. Look at the narrow strip of pale water between the nearest group and the burning buildings: the reflections there are broken by quick horizontal strokes that keep the eye moving between the orderly line of people and the advancing fire.

About the Artist

Francesco Guardi · 1712–1793

Francesco Lazzaro Guardi (1712–1793) was born into a noble family of painters from Trentino who had settled in Venice. His father, Domenico Guardi, a minor painter trained in Vienna, died in 1716, leaving young Francesco to inherit the family workshop alongside his brothers Giovanni Antonio (Gian Antonio) and Niccolò, both artists, and sister Maria Cecilia, who married the renowned Giovanni Battis...