This view of the Doge’s Palace in Venice is based on an etching by Henry Fletcher (1710–c.1753) that reproduces, at one remove, a painting by Giovanni Antonio Canal (Canaletto) (1697–1768) (see the source image above). The source for the watercolour, which has not hitherto been recognised, is part of a little-known group of etchings known as Series of Venice Views, published by Joseph Baudin (unknown dates) in 1739, and another print showing the Rialto Bridge (see source image TG0897) was the model for a companion drawing (TG0897). Baudin’s publication, with its rather crude, harsh etching style, therefore provided Girtin with images of the two most significant sights that do not feature prominently in the more sophisticated prints produced by Antonio Visentini (1688–1782) after Canaletto, from which the artist made three, slightly later watercolour views (TG0898, TG0899 and TG0900). Canaletto’s original oil painting shows the Doge’s Palace from the Riva degli Schiavoni, with the Piazzetta di San Marco beyond and the entrance to the Grand Canal and the Santa Maria della Salute in the distance. Just as significantly, the print reproduces Canaletto’s assemblage of figures on the quay and vessels of all types on the water, transforming an architectural view into a lively picture of Venetian life, and this is carefully preserved in Girtin’s copy.

As with the companion view of the Rialto, which was made from the same print source, this work comes from the collection of Girtin’s early patron John Henderson (1764–1843). Girtin produced as many as twenty or so copies after contemporary and older prints for Henderson, all presumably worked from impressions in the patron’s possession. The view of the Rialto is executed in pen and ink over pencil, but the majority of the copies made by Girtin for Henderson are in watercolours, so they follow the pattern of the bulk of the work produced by Girtin and Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) at the home of another early collector, Dr Thomas Monro (1759–1833); namely, they provided the patron with more finished versions of material that he already had access to, either as sketches or as reproductive prints. The outcome of Henderson’s commissions are not amongst the most interesting of Girtin’s works, but they are generally effective vehicles for the display of his talents as a draughtsman. In this case, however, such are the drawing’s shortcomings – with its overstated perspective lines, its lifeless figures and a lack of calligraphic variety in the architectural forms – that I initially questioned the attribution; indeed, the work seemed to be a good example of how Girtin’s name has wrongly been attached to drawings by the patron himself, as with works such as Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli (see TG1465 figure 1). However, it is possible that the work’s poor, faded condition has obscured a proper judgement of its merits, and the discovery during the preparation of this online catalogue of its source has made me think again. Overlaying images of the watercolour and its source shows just how close a copy of the similarly sized etching it is – indeed, the congruence of the two is such that the underlying pencil drawing may have been traced – and it follows from this that the work’s shortcomings can be accounted for by the poor quality of the original print. On balance, and with some unresolved doubts, I am therefore inclined to retain the attribution of the work to Girtin.

On a technical note, the paper historian Peter Bower has identified the support used as a white wove drawing paper, probably manufactured by James Whatman the Younger (1741–98) (Bower, Report). It is the same paper that is employed in other Henderson commissions, including this work’s companion, Venice: The Rialto Bridge (TG0897) a factor that adds further credence to the work’s attribution to Girtin.

Image Overlay

1796 - 1797

Venice: The Rialto Bridge

TG0897

1796 - 1797

Venice: The Rialto Bridge

TG0897

1797 - 1798

Venice: The Grand Canal, from Santa Maria della Carità, Looking to San Marco Basin

TG0898

1797 - 1798

Venice: The Grand Canal, Looking East from the Palazzo Flangini to San Marcuola

TG0899

1797 - 1798

Venice: The Grand Canal, Looking North East from near the Palazzo Corner to the Palazzo Contanari degli Scrigni

TG0900

1796 - 1797

Venice: The Rialto Bridge

TG0897