(Venice 1652/1665–1727 Rome)
The departure of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day, Venice,
oil on canvas, 89 x 129 cm, framed

We are grateful to Dario Succi for confirming the attribution of the present painting.

As the previous lot, the present painting is an unpublished view of Venice by Alessandro Piazza, depicting an important Venetian event which took place every year for centuries.

The composition depicts the departure of the Bucintoro, from the Bacino di San Marco to the Lido, on Ascension Day. This festivity, amongst the most important of the year in Venice, was held in memory of the naval victory of the Doge Pietro Orseolo over the Dalmatian pirates which traditionally occurred on Ascension Day in 998. The ceremony consisted of a rite of ‘matrimony’ with the sea which took place at the mouth of the Lido. The Doge would throw a ring which had been blessed by the patriarch into the water to symbolise the unification between Venice and the Adriatic Sea. In the present painting, the large Bucintoro is represented in the centre of the composition, surrounded by the multi-coloured boats of the parade, while the moored galleys in the lagoon honour the festivity. The Bucintoro depicted in the present painting relates specifically to the vessel used in 1606: we can affirm this thanks to the carvings and decorations on the boats represented, which we know were realised by the sculptors of Bassano, Agostino and Marcantonio Vanini.

Alessandro Piazza began his artistic career in Venice and later affirmed himself in Rome as one of the most renowned painters of ceremonies and memorial events. As heir of Joseph Heintz the Younger, he is an artist who conferred narrative to his compositions. His detailed chronicle offers a lively image of Venetian life and thereby planting the roots of a genre of painting which would be later developed by Luca Carlevarijs.