Grand Canal with the Rialto Bridge, Venice
probably c. 1780
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 68.5 x 91.5 cm (26 15/16 x 36 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CIS-B
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Widener Collection
Accession Number
1942.9.27
Art Historical Context
Step into the sunlit splendor of Venice with Francesco Guardi's *Grand Canal with theialto Bridge, Venice a captivating oil on canvas from around 1780. Measuring 68.5 x 91.5 cm, this painting captures the iconic curve of the Grand Canal, by the majestic Rialto Bridge—a hub of trade and daily life in the Serenissima Republic. Guardi, a master of the veduta tradition, renders the scene with his signature loose, atmospheric brushwork,oking the city's shimmering waterways and bustling gondolas more impressionistically than his predecessor Canaletto. Painted in the waning years of the Venetian Rep...
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...