(Frankfurt am Main 1789–1872 Vienna)
Venice - Riva degli Schiavoni with Palazzo Ducale, with a view of Santa Maria della Salute, signed Jac. Alt,
oil on canvas, 25 x 35 cm, framed, (Rei)

Provenance:
European Private Collection

Compare:
Italienische Reisen, Landschaftsbilder österreichischer und ungarischer Maler 1770–1850, edited by Sabine Grabner and Claudia Wöhrer. Eine Ausstellung der österreichischen Galerie Belvedere, 9 November 2001–3 February 2002, p. 135, no. 8, (A view of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice 1834)

Jakob Alt came to Vienna in 1810, and as a result of his marriage he established a permanent residence in the imperial capital in 1811, where he remained until his death. He had trained in Frankfurt under the German miniatures painter Johann Peter Beer, and in Vienna he primarily took commissions for landscape paintings, depicting the alps in the Imperial and Royal monarchy, for example. His first client was Adolf Kunicke, who had founded the “Lithographical Institute” in Vienna in 1817, and passed commissions on to Alt multiple times as a result of this. Alt travelled to Salzkammergut, painted views of the River Danube down to the Black Sea, and produced scenes of Laxenburg Castle for the monograph that Kaiser Franz I commissioned in 1820. In 1833, Alt and his son, Rudolf, set off on an extended trip to Italy, which saw them travel from Northern Italy to Venice. The present work depicts the Riva degli Schiavoni with the Palazzo Ducale. Alt shows this promenade, which is still popular today, with a view of Santa Maria della Salute to the left. Fishermen and traders line the route; boats and gondolas drift past in the water. The scene is presented in the commonly used shimmering light typical of Venice. The fine brushstrokes and the choice of colours reflect an image rooted in the Biedermeier tradition.
(Compare Sabine Grabner, Italienische Reisen, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, p. 277)