20 Francesco Guardi (1712–1793)
The Portico at the Ducal Palace
Venice, c. 1778
Oil on wood
24 × 17 cm
PROVENANCE Prince Alexis Orloff Collection.
Acquired through Graat et Madoulé from the Georges Petit Gallery, Paris, on 29 April 1920, no. 32.
Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, inv. 93 B
This painting depicts the arcades of the Doge’s Palace, a masterpiece of Venetian Gothic, from the side of Piazza San Marco, with some of the buildings on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore visible in the background. Various figures in small groups populate the space and evoke the daily life of the local inhabitants. There is another version of the theme, larger and more elaborate, belonging to the Earl of Normanton Collection (Ringwood), which has some differences in the details.
The motif of the portico of the Doge’s Palace gave rise to various compositions by the artist, some of which were fantasised versions of the arcades’ architecture, to which he added imaginary features, as can be seen in the previous painting (cat. 19), this work’s counterpart. A similar version, but oval in shape, can be found at The Wallace Collection in London.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
MORASSI 1993, vol. i , p. 454, no. 774; MURARO 1993, pp. 58–59, no. 16; PALLUCCHINI 1965, no. 20.
