•   Home
• Themes
• Timeline
• History of Landscape
• Gallery

Gallery

Francesco Guardi (1712-1793)

The Basin of St Mark's with the Doge's Palace, Venice, 1755-1760

This painting, which is one of a pair, shows one of the most frequently painted cityscapes in the world, Venice, in Italy, seen from the lagoon. Some of the most famous buildings can be seen, in particular the Doge's Palace (the Doge was the ruler of Venice), the Campanile, or bell tower and St Mark's Square, with the cathedral's dome just visible.

The buildings and wharfs are enlivened by a bustling mass of shipping in the foreground - barges and boats bringing produce of various kinds and smaller private gondolas, giving a clear sense of the importance of Venice as a city and a port.

Francesco Guardi

Guardi, like his equally famous compatriot Canaletto, is most well-known for his views of Venice. These are the largest known paintings by him - he usually worked on a much smaller scale. Nothing is known about why they were painted, but they were probably commissioned for a specific building. In the foreground is a small boat piled high with boxes, steered by a man in a yellow shirt. Guardi has signed one of the boxes (Francesco Guardi F(ecit)).