* Canvas reproductions are treated with a UV varnish
and come stretched ready-to-hang.
Inspired from a fantastic trip to Italy in October, 2009, this painting was created in the studio depicting the scene overlooking the Grand Canal in Venice. I spent 3 days there. Venice was misty, rainy and cold. Took plenty photos... of umbrellas there.
During the seventeenth century, on the banks of the Grand Canal, one of the most beautiful churches in Venice, the Santa Maria della Salute, was built. This symbolic image of the floating city appears in many documentaries about the Venetian architecture and is in many paintings by famous artists such as John Singer Sargent, Michele Marieschi, Walter Sickert, Francesco Guardi and Canaletto.
After the plague of 1630, which is said to have killed nearly a third of theVenice population, the senate decided to built a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. After a competition between several prominent architects, the project was entrusted to young Baldassarre Longhena. Construction began in 1631 but there were problems. The soil was not solid enough to support this massive structure, and the church would be completed late in 1687, 5 years after the death of Longhena.
The church, as seen from above, has an octagonal shape. The central dome is surrounded by baroque buttresses, used to make the structure more stable. A smaller dome is behind the big dome, along with two bell towers. Istrian stone was used to build the facade. It is by far the most prevalent stone in Venetian architecture, as it accounts for more than 90 percent of the stone used in Venice. Its white color made it a popular stone to contrast with marmorino (brick covered with marble dust) . This stone enriches the numerous sculptures of angels and saints. At the apex of the pediment stands a statue of the Virgin Mary who presides over the church and blesses the city. The impressive interior has a baroque altar designed by Longhena and priceless paintings by Titian and Tintoretto.
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