A sweeping, luminous representation of one of the most iconic panoramas of Venetian vedutism, stretching from the pier of the Palazzo delle Prigioni to the Basilica della Salute. From the Palazzo delle Prigioni, the view extends to the left towards the beginning of the Grand Canal, encompassing the Punta della Dogana and the Basilica della Salute, with the distant silhouette of the buildings on the island of Giudecca in the background.

Among the various versions of this perspective view, it is worth mentioning the smallest (55.9 x 83.8 cm), which is part of Marieschi's extraordinary series of eighteen Venetian views that belonged to the prestigious collection of Henry Howard IV, Earl of Carlisle, Castle Howard (1694–1758). 


The painting by Marieschi studied here – dated, based on its stylistic characteristics, to around 1738 – is particularly remarkable for the precision of its rendering of architectural elements, the blurred contours of the figures (“macchiette”), and the clear, enveloping luminosity that emanates from it. The soft shadows in the foreground and the characteristic and varied clusters of material on the facades of the buildings contrast with the delicately pink sky dotted with light cumulus clouds.

- Scottish private collection

Dario Succi