Venice from the Bacino di San Marco
ca. 1765–75
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
48 x 60 in. (121.9 x 152.4 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Adele L. Lehman, in memory of Arthur Lehman, 1965
Accession Number
65.181.8
Tags
Art Historical Context
Francesco Guardi’s *Venice from the Bacino di San Marco* captures the luminous heart of the Venetian lagoon in the mid-eighteenth century. Painted in oil on canvas around 1765–75, the work offers a sweeping harbor view filled with gondolas, sailing vessels, and the city’s distinctive skyline. As a leading figure of the Venetian veduta tradition, Guardi specialized in such atmospheric cityscapes that appealed to Grand Tour visitors eager to bring home mementos of their travels. Unlike the more topographically precise views of his contemporary Canaletto, Guardi favored loose brushwork and shimm...
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...