Giuseppe Gavagnin (Venice, 1846 – 1889)

Glimpse of St. Mark’s Square.

Oil on canvas, 55 × 44 cm.

Signed and dated lower right.

A Venetian-born painter and interpreter of nineteenth-century Vedutism, he produced works depicting crucial moments and scenes of daily life in his beloved city.

In this work, signed and dated 1865, Gavagnin depicts a view of St. Mark’s Square, seen from the basilica’s portico. The depiction of the church is detailed as are the characters that animate the scene: walkers with parasols, a beggar begging for alms, and on the left an elderly figure turns his back to us engaged in his occupation.

The almost photographic image gives us a glimpse of Venetian life in the middle of the daylight hours, capturing the essence of the city and its inhabitants.

Among his well-known works, we should not forget the painting depicting The Arrival of Victor Emmanuel II in Venice, made in 1867, now kept in the Pitti Palace