Images(5)

The Grand Canal: Scene - a Street in Venice

Maker Joseph Mallord William Turner (British, 1775 - 1851)

Collections

British Painting Highlights

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Dateca.1837

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions59 1/4 x 44 1/4 in. (150.5 x 112.4 cm.)

DescriptionThis painting shows the Grand Canal, the main waterway in Venice, Italy in perspective. Along the banks of the canal are recognizable buildings and architectures such as Palazzo Grimani and Rialto Brigde. The sides of the canal are crowded with barges and gondolas filled with gaily dressed spectators; in the extreme right foreground is a crowded staircase descending to the water in shadow.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Status

On view

Label TextA city of light and water, Venice enabled Turner to indulge his fascination with brilliant effects of color and luminosity. More than a simple view of the famous city, the painting presents also offers associations that would have been familiar to English visitors. For example, in the right foreground, leaning out a window, the figure of Shylock from Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice brandishes a document, a set of scales, and a knife—all references to his infamous demand of a pound of flesh in exchange for a loan. Turner’s image of Venice is of a fantastic dreamscape of plays and fables, where reflections on the water and shimmering highlights delight the eye.

Bibliography

British paintings at the Huntington

Object number22.52