The Bucintoro at the Molo, Venice, on Ascension Day,
oil on canvas, 61 x 96 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private European collection;
where acquired by the present owner

The present painting represents one of the most emblematic views of Venice, especially among the Venetian vedutisti and their patrons. It is a record of the city’s appearance in the eighteenth century and the Piazzetta, viewed from the San Marco Basin, the first view of Venice when arriving from the lagoon. This motif was frequently commissioned by visitors during the eighteenth century and it was often painted by Gaspar van Wittel, Luca Carlevarijs and Antonio Canal, called il Canaletto.

The composition under discussion belongs to a group of works which all show the same subject and often have similar dimensions (see M. Manzelli, Michele Marieschi ed il suo alter-ego Francesco Albotto, Venice 2002, pp. 107-110). In contrast to those other paintings the Galera – the red vessel at the centre – has been reduced here in scale and moved to the left to create the space necessary for the depiction of the Bucintoro – the sumptuous galleon of the Venetian dodges. This galleon traditionally returned to the Molo di San Marco on Ascension Day, after the doge had celebrated the annual ritual of the marriage of Venice to the sea, symbolising the maritime dominion of the Serenissima.