Giacomo Guardi (venice, 1764 - 1835), View Of Venice With The Giudecca Canal

Giacomo Guardi (Venice, 1764 - Venice, 1835)
View of Venice with the Giudecca Canal and the Gesuati Church

oil on canvas
34 x 42 cm. - framed 40 x 50 cm.

Expertise dr.ssa Federica Spadotto

The beautiful view of Venice elects the church of Santa Maria del Rosario, known to Venetians as the Gesuati, built on the Giudecca Canal by Giorgio Massari between 1724 and 1736, as the protagonist of the representation.

It is a painting by Giacomo Guardi (Venice, 1764 - Venice, 1835), son and pupil of the well-known Vedutista Francesco Guardi, who continued his father's activity by painting many views and capriccios.

His production boasts especially small-format compositions because they were intended to meet the demands of collectors and refined foreign travellers who desired an elegant souvenir of the lagoon city during their Grand Tour.

Their small size allowed them to be carried along with their luggage, while now these small 'postcards' have become highly sought-after and appreciated by modern collectors.

The style of the painting is modelled on the modus pingendi of Francesco Guardi (Venice, 1712-1793) - a comparison is easy to make in terms of the treatment of water, boats and macchiette - thus testifying to Giacomo's profound knowledge of the manner elaborated by his father, albeit declined in a personal interpretation of his pictorial microcosm.

Looking in fact at the same religious building, immortalised in numerous paintings of Francesco's late maturity - among them the 'View of the Giudecca Canal to the Northwest with the Zattere' (circa 1760, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin) [1] - we can admire the execution of a choral vision, which by dilating the perspective view offers a great overall view.

[1] Francesco Guardi ( Venice 1712-1793) View of the Giudecca Canal to the Northwest with the Zattere (c. 1760) - Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
URL: https://www.flickr.com/photos/94185526@N04/48785870492


This propensity was not, however, inherited by his son Giacomo who, instead, often preferred to extrapolate a precise segment with extreme fidelity, here making the church of Santa Maria del Rosario the protagonist.

The corpus of Guardi junior is no stranger to such licences and, although he is familiar with his parent's prototype, he chooses to adopt a completely different approach, "cutting out" a cameo from Francesco's very broad perspective vision; the shot narrows down and elects the church overlooking the waters of the Lagoon as the protagonist of the canvas, which he garnishes with the same figures present in his father's counterpart, to reiterate the referential platform of belonging.

The view, in excellent condition, undamaged and without significant restorations, repainted not recently, is enriched by a beautiful gilded frame.


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