Venetian School, 19th century, View of Venice with Doge's Palace and the horizon of the Venetian Lagoon

Venetian School, 19th century View of Venice with Doge's Palace and the horizon of the Venetian Lagoon Oil on canvas, 78 x 101 cm Framed, 100 x 122 cm The unusual perspective chosen by the artist for this Venetian view, raised in a bird's-eye view, allows the painting to be cleared from the well-traveled tradition of Venetian vedutismo. The scenario restored by the painter, which allows us to appreciate the jewels of the lagoon, including the basin and the mainland with San Giuliano and Porto Marghera, is also justifiable by the chronological height of the painting, which is of the early nineteenth century. The bird's-eye view suggests a shot from above on the opposite pier in front of the church of S. Giorgio Maggiore. For this painting, considering the moment of composition, and given the extraordinary correctness of each monument, one would wonder if the artist did not know the Venetian topography perfectly, or if he did not observe everything, with an optical instrument, from an elevated floor of the monastic complex of S. Giorgio. Beyond the glassy sea with the line of Rio dei Mercanti, the Ponte della Paglia on the right, the romanticized Bridge of Sighs hidden in the shadow of the canaletto, and the immediately recognizable Doge's Palace and Palazzo delle Prigioni it is in fact possible to see, beyond the domes of S. Marco, in perfect alignment: the bell tower of the church of Ss. Apostoli in the sestiere of Cannaregio, the stable of the Scuola Grande della Misericordia and immediately behind it the bell tower of the church of the Madonna dell'Orto. Scrolling the horizon to the left, you can also recognize the bell tower of the church of S. Bartolomeo di Rialto, opposite the Rialto Bridge. Around the Piazzetta San Marco, cheerfully populated, are the notorious Venetian preciousnesses: in the foreground the columns of San Tòdaro (Theodore of Amasea, Byzantine) and San Marco; on the left, the Libreria Sansoviniana. Then it is the turn of the Campanile with the precious loggia of Sansovino, the Procuratie Vecchie and the beginning of the Clock Tower attached to them. The nuanced streaks of the sky, with pastel colors, increase the exceptional grace of this unique perspective unicum.