(Mongrassano 1859–1942 Naples)
Canal in Venice, signed Rubens Santoro, oil on canvas, 77 x 64 cm, framed, (GG)

Provenance:
Acquired directly from the artist by the grandfather of the current owner;
thence by descent to the present owner;
European private collection.

The popularity of Venice views in Santoro’s days was rooted in the Grand Tour which had begun over a century earlier. The demand for souvenir views of the city was satisfied by painters such as Canaletto and Guardi.By the turn of the twentieth century tourism to Venice had increased vastly.Rubens Santoro was one of many artists to settle there to take advantage of a huge demand for Venice views. These artists were attracted by its beauty and luminosity.Santoro was born in the south of Italy in Cosenza in 1859. He trained under his father Giovanni Battista Santoro then he joined the Naples Institute of Fine Arts. He travelled widely throughout Italy. He was above all impressed by the splendor of Venice whose beauty and light he captured in his paintings. He became assimilated into the Venetian culture. He would often work sitting in gondola sketching building and canals such as the present lot which shows the quiet life of a back canal.