NARRATOR:
Painting for foreigners was a main source of Francesco Guardi’s livelihood. This View of the Rialto, Venice, from the Grand Canal must have been quite popular, because Guardi painted it numerous times. The vigorous commercial life of this bridge, the only span over the Grand Canal until the middle of the 19th century, is not described with an eye to realistic detail. Rather, Guardi gives us the sensation of the bustling canal by capturing fleeting moments with quick dabs of paint—gondoliers rowing from one bank to the next, boats at the left crowding the Riva del Vin to load and unload barrels of wine, tiny people in the distance, strolling across the bridge. And what better way to suggest the transitory than through the act of painting: Guardi painted with a rapid, spontaneous and lively touch using a small, fine brush. His flickering white highlights lead our eye rhythmically along the canal, and he animates buildings and water with shifting patterns of light and shadow.
View of the Rialto, Venice, from the Grand Canal Looking North
c. 1782
Francesco Guardi (Italian, 1712-1793)
On View
Francesco Guardi’s view of the Rialto bridge in Venice depicts the bustling atmosphere of the city’s main waterway. As the only bridge to span the Grand Canal, the Rialto was a busy intersection for merchant ships, gondolas and pedestrians. Guardi approaches the scene from a high vantage point, organizing the painting into three distinct levels of open sky, stone architecture and glistening water. Astutely observant, he translates seemingly minute details into meticulous brushstrokes of paint. From the rhythm of the billowing sails to the rippling reflections in the water, Guardi’s painting vividly captures the lively spirit of the famed floating city.
Details
- Artist Name: Francesco Guardi (Italian, 1712-1793)
- Title: View of the Rialto, Venice, from the Grand Canal Looking North
- Date: c. 1782
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 17 x 24-3/4 in. (43.2 x 62.9 cm)
- Credit Line: Norton Simon Art Foundation, Gift of Mr. Norton Simon
- Accession Number: M.1966.10.05.P
- Copyright: © Norton Simon Art Foundation
Object Information
J. T. Payne (sale, London, Christie’s, 1879).
[Martin Colnaghi, Guardi Gallery, Haymarket, London].
Arthur Pemberton Heywood-Lonsdale, by descent to his great-grandson;
Timothy Heywood-Lonsdale (sale, London, Christie’s, 4 December 1964, lot 71, to);
[Thos. Agnew & Sons, Ltd., London, stock 25561, sold 1964 to];
Norton Simon Collection, Los Angeles;
Norton Simon Art Foundation.
[Martin Colnaghi, Guardi Gallery, Haymarket, London].
Arthur Pemberton Heywood-Lonsdale, by descent to his great-grandson;
Timothy Heywood-Lonsdale (sale, London, Christie’s, 4 December 1964, lot 71, to);
[Thos. Agnew & Sons, Ltd., London, stock 25561, sold 1964 to];
Norton Simon Collection, Los Angeles;
Norton Simon Art Foundation.
Reinstallation of Galleries: Art History of the 17th and 18th Century Gains Fresh Dimension
- Norton Simon Museum, 1993-09-02 to 1995-08-13
- Renato Miracco, Italian Treasures in the U.S. An Itinerary of Art,2014, p. #43
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best,2010, cat. 257 p. 276
- Steadman, David, Art Journal,fig. 8 p. 37
- Morassi, Antonio, Antonio e Francesco Guardi,no. 539 p. 410
- Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum,1989, p. 99
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