The Church of Santa Maria della Salute, Venice
Michele Giovanni Marieschi·1740–41
Historical Context
Michele Giovanni Marieschi painted this view of the Church of Santa Maria della Salute in Venice in 1740-41, one of his atmospheric vedute that rivaled Canaletto's more famous views. Marieschi was a Venetian painter and printmaker who specialized in architectural views of Venice, producing paintings of remarkable atmospheric quality during his brief career — he died at just thirty-three in 1743. His views offer a more painterly, atmospheric alternative to Canaletto's crystalline precision.
Technical Analysis
Marieschi renders the iconic Venetian church with the lively, somewhat rough brushwork that distinguishes his vedute from Canaletto's smoother technique. The warm atmospheric effects and the animated treatment of the Grand Canal create a sense of Venetian life that balances architectural accuracy with painterly energy.
Provenance
Probably Sir William Pilkington, 8th Bt. (died 1850), Butterton Hall and Chevet Hall, Wakefield, Yorkshire, from about 1846 [according to letter from Edward Speelman to Daniel Rich, dated May 8, 1946; copy in curatorial file]; by descent in the Pilkington family to Sir Arthur William Milborne-Swinnerton-Pilkington, 13th Bt. (died 1952), Chevet Hall, Wakefield, Yorkshire [according to letter cited above]; sold to Edward Speelman, London, by May 1946 [according to letter cited above, the painting may have had a pendant, now untraced, since a photograph of “A Regatta on the Grand Canal” in the curatorial file is labeled “22 x 33 ½ inches; offer for £1800 – 15 Sept. 1950 by Ed. Speelman Ltd.” and “pendant picture by Marieschi”]; sold to the Art Institute, 1946.
