(Palmanova 1762–1844 Milan)
Venice, View of the Grand Canal with the Palazzo Grimani, oil on canvas, 54 x 76 cm, framed

Compare:
Giuseppe Pavanello, Giuseppe Bernardino Bison, Fondazione CRTrieste 2012, p. 207, no. 47.

We are grateful to Prof. Fabrizio Magani for kindly confirming the authenticity on the basis of the original.

A certificate issued by Prof. Fabrizio Magani is available upon request.

The painting depicts the Grand Canal framed by the bulk of Palazzo Grimani on the left. Bison has carefully reproduced the most famous palaces overlooking the Grand Canal. Among these is Palazzo Grimani, the superb Renaissance structure created by Michele Sanmicheli which John Ruskin described in his work The Stones of Venice, as “one of the best in Europe of the central period of Renaissance architecture”. The palace was bought by the Austrian government after the fall of the Republic, which converted it to the headquarters of the Post Office. Bison took care to note the Habsburg insignia ‘I.R.POSTE’ on the building, which explicitly dates the painting to after 1814-15, i.e. after the second and final Austrian occupation. Opposite Palazzo Grimani is Palazzo Papadopoli, which was built in the second half of the 16th century. Bison focuses on capturing everyday life in Venice, with boatmen intent on their daily activities loading goods or leading a group of Venetians along the waterway.