Gardens of the Villa Correr, near Strà (recto); Study for The Transverberation of Saint Teresa of Jesus and a Study of Hands (verso)
1712–93
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over charcoal (recto). Framing lines in pen and brown ink; charcoal (verso)
Dimensions
sheet: 9 1/16 x 15 1/2 in. (23 x 39.4 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1937
Accession Number
37.165.77
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite double-sided drawing by Francesco Guardi, a master of 18th-century Venetian art, captures the artist's versatility on a modest sheet measuring just over 9 by 15 inches. On the recto, Guardi sketches the lush *Gardens of the Villarer near Strà*, a grand patrician estate along the Brenta Canal. Using pen and brown ink, and brown wash over charcoal, he evokes the elegant symmetry of Venetian Renaissance gardens—clipped hedges, fountains, and pavilions—infused with his signature atmospheric lightness. This technique, layering fluid washes for depth and subtle highlights, reflects Gu...
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...