(Venice 1710–1743)
The Grand Canal, Venice, at the Scalzi with the church of San Simeon Piccolo on the left,
oil on canvas, 61 x 96 cm, framed

We are grateful to Ralph Toledano for confirming the attribution.

The present veduta painting depicts a view of Venice that has changed in appearance over the years. The small church of Santa Chiara at bottom right was temporarily replaced during the eighteenth century by a palazzo Rezzonico. This was in turn demolished, along with the surrounding row of houses at the time of construction of the Santa Lucia railway station, which still stands there today.

With its grey dome, the church of San Simeon Piccoo also saw changes in 1738, when its size was modified by Giovanni Scalfarotto, bringing it closer to the water and thereby reducing the depth of the foundations.

The Scalzi church, also called Santa Maria di Nazareth was part of the convent of the Carmelite order and was built between the late17th and early 18th century. The overall project was designed by Baldassare Longhena, while the facade, financed by an aristocrat, Girolamo Cavazza, is the work of Giuseppe Sardi, and was built between 1672 and 1680, with a decoration of statues by Bernardo Falconi.

For this composition, Marieschi based himself on a view by Canaletto, today in Windsor (see Constable, 1962, no. 258, dated around 1729 - 1734). The view by Canaletto was engraved by Visentini between 1731 and 1735 (Urbis Venetiarum Prospectus Celebriores..., Volume I, plate XI).

In turn, Marieschi engraved this view (see Michele Marieschi, Venice, 1941, Magnificentiores Selectioresque Urbis Venetiarum Prospectus... , second edition, no. 13 ;1988, R.Toledano, Michele Marieschi, pp.92-93, V.19.1, V.19.2, V.19.3 ; 1995, R.Toledano, Michele Marieschi, second edition, pp.88-91, V.25.a,b,c,d.), enlivening it with the Burchiello; this the name of one of the typical boats with large carved wooden cabins that used to sail along the Brenta during summer, between Padua and Venice, stopping along the way by the villages and villas along the banks.

Other versions painted by Marieschi also exist, with or without the Burchiello (see the comparative bibliography).

Certainly, with its sumptuous Baroque decoration, the facade of the Scalzi Church must have struck Marieschi, for he used it in all the versions; in the present version, he particularly conveys the richness of the building. With characteristic brushstrokes, loaded with lumps of paint, and by superimposing mixtures of whites, greys and pinks, in this painting Marieschi effectively renders the changing, vibrant reflected light on the buildings of Venice.

On the row of buildings following the Scalzi Church, and the side wall of a house preceding the church of San Simeon Piccolo (left), Marieschi continues to develop the same descriptive technique, an unmistakable sign of his autograph works.

For the present painting, Toledano has proposed a late date of 1743 in the brief career of Marieschi.

We are grateful to Ralph Toledano for cataloguing the present lot.