(Venice 1824–1890)
Venice, the Riva degli Schiavoni, signed L. Querena, oil on canvas, 66 x 130 cm, framed, (GG)

Exhibited:
Probably Venice, Imperial Regia Accademia Veneta di Belle Arti, 1862; Piazzola sul Brenta, Villa Contarini, L’armonia del vero. Vita e paesaggi tra terre e acque 1842–1932, 11 September - 30 November 2015;
Venice, Palazzo Querini, Venezia in Chiaro, dialoghi e silenzi nella pittura tra Ottocento e Novecento, 1 November 2018 – 13 January 2019.

Catalogued and illustrated in:
Elenco degli oggetti d’arte ammessi all’Esposizione nelle sale della I. R. Accademia Veneta di Belle Arti, Venice, 1862;
Luisa Turchi, exhibition catalogue L’armonia del vero. Vita e paesaggi tra terre e acque 1842–1932, Turin, Allemandi, 2015, pp. 29, 128–129, no. 38.;
Luisa Turchi and Stefano Cecchetto, exhibition catalogue, Venezia in Chiaro, dialoghi e silenzi nella pittura tra Ottocento e Novecento, Venice, pp. 102, 209–210, no. 28.

With the present painting, Luigi Querena creates a vast veduta, which includes the Bacino with St Mark’s Square in the distance. Worth noting are the Doge‘s Palace and the Campanile, together with the domes of St Mark’s Basilica and part of the Grand Canal, along with the Giudecca Canal and the Zattere promenade in the Dorsoduro district through to the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute and finally the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. This pictorial structure also appears in other works by Querena, however with varied atmospheres and times of day.
All sorts of figures who meet, pause thoughtfully on the steps in the shade, or are brushed by the sun’s rays, liven up the scene. The fishmonger, who stands on the crest of the Ponte della Paglia bridge, carries a typical ‘zuccotto’ on his head and also appears in other works by Querena.
The lagoon in front of the island of San Giorgio Maggiore is populated by boats typical of the period: the gondolas and a two-masted sailboat with gathered sails pulled by a rowing boat.