Giuseppe Gavagnin (Venezia, 1846 – 1889)

Oil on canvas, 55 × 44 cm. Signed and dated at the bottom right. A painter of Venetian origin, interpreter of nineteenth-century vedutismo, he creates works that tell of crucial moments and scenes of daily life in his beloved city. In this work, signed and dated 1865, Gavagnin represents a glimpse of St. Mark's Square, seen from the portico of the basilica. The depiction of the church is detailed, as are the characters who animate the scene: walkers with parasols, a beggar asking for alms, and on the left, an elderly figure with his back to us engaged in his occupation. The almost photographic image gives us a cross-section of Venetian life in the middle of daytime hours, capturing the essence of the city and its inhabitants. Among his well-known works, let's not forget the painting that describes The Arrival of Vittorio Emanuele II in Venice, created in 1867, now preserved in Palazzo Pitti.