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Date : near 1780
Material : Oil on canvas
Acquisition : (1991)
| Item 9 on 21
European Painting
Painting
Area related
Venise (Italy)
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| Description |  |
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This is one of four paintings commissioned by John Strange, British Envoy to Venice from 1773 to 1788. It portrays a great house in the northern part of Venice, far from Piazza San Marco; the other three works depict villas on the mainland, one of which was leased by Strange. Palazzo Contarini was built in 1534 for the man of letters Cardinal Gasparo Contarini (1483 - 1542). The unique quartet of aristocratic dwellings Guardi painted for Strange ushered in his ultimate phase, in which he idealized the sea and sky of Venice through his brilliant handling of light.
Strange insisted that artists remain faithful to the actualities of sites and demanded a high finish for paintings. But Guardi stamped this work with his individuality by elongating the architecture, embellishing the garden "all'italiana", and providing a wide - angled view. Although topographically accurate, the picture has all the lyricism of the artist's imaginary views. It is animated by a gentle oblique light; the figures glide through the garden with dancelike movements.
The elegant assembly is strolling in late afternoon sunshine that tints the clouds a delicate pink - the lagoon and the island of Murano are to the left. Beyond the fence at the far end, tiny boatmen propel themselves with poles around an inlet - the Sacca delle Misericordia. Lavishly restored, the Palazzo and its garden have in recent years regained their status as one of the sequestered pearls of Venice.
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