Turner's Venice
Turner visited Venice three times and painted the city as light dissolving over water.
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About the series
Joseph Mallord William Turner went to Venice three times, in 1819, 1833 and 1840. He filled sketchbooks and made many watercolours there, and from 1833 onwards he showed oil paintings of the city at the Royal Academy in London almost every year until 1846.
The Venice oils show the Grand Canal, the Dogana, the church of Santa Maria della Salute and San Giorgio Maggiore across the lagoon. The buildings are often pale and half lost in sunlight, with the water taking up much of the canvas. The later works are looser and brighter, close to pure colour. Tate Britain in London holds a large group through the Turner Bequest, including Venice, the Bridge of Sighs. The National Gallery of Art in Washington holds Venice: The Dogana and San Giorgio Maggiore.
Most Venice oils are wide. A pair of lagoon views with different light works well above a fireplace or sofa.
