The Bucintoro at the Molo on Ascension Day, Venice,
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. This painting is a record of the city’s appearance in the eighteenth century and this view of the Piazzetta seen from the Bacino di San Marco, was the first seen by visitors to Venice arriving from the lagoon. The view of the Molo from the Bacino di San Marco was frequently commissioned by visitors to Venice during the eighteenth century and it was often painted by Gaspar van Wittel, Luca Carlevarijs and Antonio Canal called Canaletto.

The present painting belongs to a group representing this subject: these works are similar to each other and often have similar dimensions (see M. Manzelli, Michele Marieschi ed il suo alter-ego Francesco Albotto, Venice 2002, pp. 107-110). ´The compostion relates a work at Sotheby’s New York, 17 July 1972 (lot 137, 60 x 95 cm) which bears on the reverse the inscription ‘Francesco Albotto F in Cale de Ca’ Loredan, San Luca’ which consequently became the first painting assigned to Francesco Albotto (see R. Pallucchini, Francesco Albotto: erede di Michele Marieschi, in: Arte Veneta, no. 26, 1972, pp. 222-223, illustrated fig. 302). Another composition which is also considered to be by Albotto in the Museo di Capodimonte, Naples (inv. no. 83.959, 61 x 97 cm). The composition of the present view is also very similar to the engraving of this subject by Michele Marieschi (conserved in the Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe, Museo Correr, Venice); however, as compared to this, the present painting reveals some significant differences. On the right a group of three buildings is represented that do no not appear in all the paintings that can be referred back to the engraving. Furthermore, the Galera – the red vessel at the centre – has been reduced in scale and moved to the left to create the space necessary to represent the Bucintoro – the sumptuous galleon of the Venetian dodges. This ship traditionally returned to the Molo di San Marco on the day of the Ascension after the doge had celebrated the annual ritual of the marriage of Venice to the sea.