The Doge Carried around the Piazza San Marco
Medium
etching and engraving on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 44.4 x 56.5 cm (17 1/2 x 22 1/4 in.) sheet: 50.2 x 67.5 cm (19 3/4 x 26 9/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Mark J. Millard Architectural Collection
Accession Number
1985.61.452
Art Historical Context
This striking print captures a grand ceremonial procession in Venice’s Piazza San Marco, where the Doge—the elected ruler of the Venetian Republic—is carried aloft in a ceremonial chair amid a throng of officials, clergy, and onlookers. Created between 1763 and 1766 by Giovanni Battista Brustolon after an original design by Canaletto, the image preserves the splendor of 18th-century Venetian civic life. Canaletto’s celebrated vedute (city views) were prized for their luminous detail and atmospheric precision; Brustolon’s faithful translation into print extended that vision to a broader audienc...