The Bacino di San Marco

1740 · Private collection

landscape

The painting shows the profile of Venice as it appears from the present-day Giardini when approaching the city by boat from the Lido. To the far left is the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, with the church of the same name and the complex of the Benedictine monastery. Just to the right of the island appear the Magazzini del Sal, dazzlingly illuminated, the Dogana and Santa Maria della Salute on the spit of land known as the Dorsoduro.

About the Artist

Johan Richter

1665 – 1745

Johan Richter was a Swedish artist active in Venice by at least 1717 and stayed there until his death. He painted Venetian scenes of the area around St Mark's, like Carlevaris who can be considered to be his master, however, he was more original in his paintings of the lagoon proposing views unprecedented in Venetian painting. He can be seen as the forerunner of a Venetian conception of 'veduta': not as a faithful reproduction of reality, but almost as an assemblage of architectural elements.

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