Venetian School, 18th Century

The Piazzetta, Venice, looking north towards Piazza San Marco,
oil on canvas, 74 x 111 cm, framed

The present painting shows the Piazzetta in Venice looking towards the Torre dell’Orologio and the Procuratie Vecchie. On the left side is the building designed by Jacopo Sansovino to hold the Biblioteca Marciana and on the right Palazzo Ducale. The high campanile, with the elegant Loggetta, and the south side of the Basilica indicate the entrance to Piazza San Marco. Figures are depicted in the Piazzetta, some wearing the typical masks of the Venetian Carnival and some others watching what it seems to be two actors on a wooden stage. This kind of open theatre was played in the campi or piazze and was popular during the Carnival season.

Vedute, or view paintings, of which the present work is an example, represent the essence and splendor of Venice, a city of importance in the itinerary of the Grand Tour of continental Europe undertaken mainly by the British aristocracy, during the 18th century. By the middle of century, Venice became renowned as the centre of the vedutisti as the desire for images recording surroundings, as well as daily life in Venice was in high demand. The diffusion of prototypes via prints, particularly those by Antonio Visentini in Prospectus Magni Canalis Venetiarum (1735–1742), inspired by the work of Canaletto, dramatically influenced the development of the genre.