Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
VENICE VIEWS INDOORS
» Procession in San Marco (1496, Gentile Bellini; Gallerie dell'Accademia)
» Rio dei Mendicanti (1723-24, Canaletto; Ca' Rezzonico)
» Piazza San Marco, Mass after the Victory (1918, Emma Ciardi; Museo Correr)
» The San Marco Basin with San Giorgio and Giudecca (1770-74, Francesco Guardi; Gallerie
dell'Accademia)
» Rio dei Mendicanti with the Scuola di San Marco (1738-40, Bernardo Bellotto; Gallerie dell'Accademia)
Not Strictly Academic: Venetian Modernism
The arrival of Napoleon in 1797 was a disaster for Venice and its art. During his Kingdom
of Italy (1806-14), Napoleon and his forces knocked down churches and systematically
plundered Venice and the region of artistic treasures. Some works have been restored to
Venice, including the bronze horses of Basilica di San Marco that probably belong in
Istanbul, since Venice pilfered them from Constantinople. Yet even under 19th-century oc-
cupation, Venice remained a highlight of the Grand Tour, and painters who flocked to the
city created memorable Venice cityscapes.
After joining the newly unified Italy in 1866, Venice's signature artistic contribution to
the new nation was Francesco Hayez (1791-1882). The Venetian painter paid his dues
with society portraits but is best remembered for Romanticism and frank sexuality, begin-
ning with Rinaldo and Armida (1814) in the Gallerie dell'Accademia.
Never shy about self-promotion, Venice held its first Biennale in 1895 to reassert its
role as global taste maker and provide an essential corrective to the brutality of the Indus-
trial Revolution. A garden pavilion showcased a self-promoting, studiously inoffensive
take on Italian art - principally lovely ladies, pretty flowers, and lovely ladies wearing
pretty flowers. Other nations were granted pavilions in 1907, but the Biennale retained
strict control, and had a Picasso removed from the Spanish pavilion in 1910 so as not to
shock the public with modernity.
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