Three visions of Summer - Venice

Three Visions of Summer – Venice

Welcome to the first in our series of online displays celebrating the delights of summer. The shimmering canals and blue skies of Venice have long attracted visitors. Giovanni Battista Cimaroli and Michele Marieschi catered to the aristocratic Grand Tourists who visited the city in the mid-eighteenth century. Cimaroli’s bright palette evokes the boats and picturesque crowds, European and Levantine, which thronged the famous quaysides. Marieschi paints the stately Grand Canal with the golden gondolas of the Imperial Ambassador, a reminder of the theatrical ceremonial for which Venice was famed.

Canaletto’s stay in London from 1746-55 inspired several high-quality contemporary imitators, such as the painter of this stunning view of the Salute and the entrance to the Grand Canal. Two hundred years later, Edward Seago also fell in love with the Serenissima, evoking its soft light and exquisite balance of sky and water with lively brushwork.

Look out for more Visions of Summer in the coming weeks.