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Venice from the Bacino di San Marco

ca. 1765–75
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 644
This is an early, important example of a view painting by Guardi, an artist one generation younger than Canaletto, whose work is nearby. It juxtaposes a relatively frontal lineup of buildings along Venice’s emblematic Piazza di San Marco, including the ducal palace and bell tower, with the flurry of activity on the water, enlivened by the intersection of masts, rigging, oars, and countless figures at work. In contrast to Canaletto’s clarity of light and solidity of form, Guardi’s looser paint handling encourages the imagination to fill in the gaps, resulting in a greater sense of animation.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Venice from the Bacino di San Marco
  • Artist: Francesco Guardi (Italian, Venice 1712–1793 Venice)
  • Date: ca. 1765–75
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 48 x 60 in. (121.9 x 152.4 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Adele L. Lehman, in memory of Arthur Lehman, 1965
  • Object Number: 65.181.8
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Capriccio with Roman Ruins, Francesco Guardi Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over graphite; framing lines in pen and brown ink drawn by the artist; sheet glued onto secondary paper support
Capriccio with Roman Ruins
Francesco Guardi
18th century
The Arcade of the Libreria, Looking Toward San Giorgio Maggiore, Francesco Guardi Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash
The Arcade of the Libreria, Looking Toward San Giorgio Maggiore
Francesco Guardi
1712–93
Lagoon Capriccio with an Obelisk, Francesco Guardi Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash, over black chalk
Lagoon Capriccio with an Obelisk
Francesco Guardi
ca. 1750–70
View of Piazza with Basilica of San Marco, Francesco Guardi Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash. Framing lines in pen and brown ink at left and right margins. Pricked for transfer
View of Piazza with Basilica of San Marco
Francesco Guardi
1712–93
Bullbaiting in a Venetian Piazza, Francesco Guardi Italian, Pen and brown ink
Bullbaiting in a Venetian Piazza
Francesco Guardi
1712–93

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