(Venice 1824–1890)
The Blessed Doge Francesco Morosini in 1693 leaves Venice to fight the Turks at the Peloponnese, indistinctly signed, dated 1865, oil on canvas, 132 x 190 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private Collection Italy, for over 100 years.

Exhibited:
Trieste, Edifizio della borsa, Associazione Triestina di Belle Arti, Autumn 1865,
no. 116.

Catalogued in:
Exhibition catalogue, Associazione Triestina di Belle Arti, Esposizione di Belle Arti, First Year, Tipografia del Lloyd Austriaco, 1865, p. 7, no. 116.

Francesco Morosini ruled as the 108th Doge of Venice from 1688 to 1694, at the height of the Great Turkish War. His great success in battle at the Peloponnesus between 1684 and 1687, where he won back from the Turks a large amount of territory earned him the title Peloponnesiacus. He was however unable to capture Negroponte 1688, the main Ottoman stronghold in central Greece, and was forced to return to Venice. He embarked on a final campaign in 1693 but was again unsuccessful. Anecdotal details from his life are known, for example that he always dressed in red and that he was particularly fond of his cat, even going to battle with it. Following its death, he had the creature embalmed and taken to the Museo Correr in Venice where it still resides.

The large size of the present lot enables the artist to give us a detailed view of the Bacino di San Marco crowded with boats and gondolas, the Bucintoro preeminent among them. It provides an accurate account of the buildings, starting with the Riva degi Schiavoni, the Palazzo Ducale and the Biblioteca Marciana to the right. The entrance of the Grand Canal with Santa Maria della Salute and the Dogana are visible in the distance. Numerous figures celebrate the departure of the fleet against the Turks under the command of Francesco Morosini, who is being blessed by the Patriarch.

A similar subject by Luigi Querena was exhibited in Milan at the Palazzo Nazionale di Brera in 1859 and listed in the exhibition’s catalogue with the title: “Il molo di Venezia al momento della partenza del doge Francesco Morosini per la guerra in Levante contro I turchi (1693). Grande dipinto di prospettiva ad olio. P.51, no.347.”

Luigi Querena studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice with Federico Moja (1802-1885). His painting focused on vistas and architecture. He specialised in traditional Venetian views, earning a reputation for reviving the subjects made popular by Canaletto.