Pope Pius VI blessing the People of Venice in 1782
Francesco Guardi (Venice 1712 - Venice 1793)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1782
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
653 x 817 x 60 mm
Place of origin
Venice
Order this imageCollection
Upton House, Warwickshire
NT 446812
Caption
The Pope is shown on a specially erected 'macchina' (or stage set) in front of the Scuola di San Marco. Crowds have gathered before him, spreading into the square of SS. Giovanni e Paolo, with the Colleoni monument shown to the right. Guardi appears to have based this painting on an engraving by Jacopo Leonardis after Domenico Fossati. The Pope visited Venice between May 15th and 19th of 1782, and prints were produced to take advantage of the popular interest aroused by his visit. Guardi was commissioned by Peter Edwards, an English painter and inspector of paintings to the Republic, to execute four paintings recording various episodes from the Pope’s stay. The episode depicted here was so popular that other versions were made by the artist. It is generally agreed that the picture in the Ashmolean belongs to the original series commissioned by Edwards.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Pope Pius VI blessing the People of Venice in 1782, Francesco Guardi (Venice 1712 - Venice 1793), 1782. A large crowd is gathered in the Campo SS Giovanni e Paolo, surrounding the Pope, who addresses the populace from a specially erected macchina in front of the Scuola di San Marco. Right, the Colleoni monument and part of the church of SS Giovanni e Paolo.
Full description
Francesco Guardi was born into a family of painters in Venice in 1712. It is possible Francesco learned his profession at the family studio. At one time, it was thought he trained under Canaletto but that is now in doubt. Neither fame nor fortune ensued in his lifetime and it was only in the 20th century that he became properly appreciated. Various festivities and concerts were planned in celebration and Venice’s City Council commissioned Guardi to make four paintings of the event - the Pope’s arrival, celebrating mass, a papal audience and, highlight of the visit, the blessing of the people at Pentecost. The blessing was to have taken place in St Mark’s Square but lack of space forced a move next to the large Dominican church of the monastery of SS Giovanni and Paolo, seen on the right of the painting. The Pope is beneath the golden arch in the centre, accompanied by the Doge and the Patriarch of Venice along with spiritual and secular dignitaries. He is standing on a specially erected stage set in front of the Scuola di San Marco, remarkably similar to the façade of the basilica of San Marco. To the left of the painting onlookers embrace the bridge over the Rio dei Mendicanti - the canal itself having been boarded over to make extra standing room for the dense crowd. To the right, in front of the Dominican church where the Pope stayed during his visit, can be seen Verrochio’s equestrian statue of Bartolemeo Colleoni, Capitan General of Venice’s land forces in the late 15th century. This painting was the most popular of the four works commissioned by the city. The artist, along with others, made further versions of the scene and it is generally accepted that the Guardi at the Ashmolean Museum is the original commission. Guardi’s versions made the greatest impression and Upton’s is a signed work of high quality. Guardi and his brothers are regarded as the last representatives of the classical school of Venetian painting. His work is typified by warm colours and vibrant light, reflecting the fragile beauty of his home – Venice. (Picture in Focus, Summer 2013)
Provenance
Commissioned by City Council of Venice; D.P. Sellar sale, Paris, 6 June 1889, lot 35; Walter Burns; acquired by Lord Bearsted via Arthur Ruck for £ 5,500 in May 1935, though still referred to as being in the Burns collection in 1929 (see Pantheon article); given with Upton House to the National Trust by Walter Samuel, 2nd Viscount Bearsted (1882 – 1948), in 1948, shortly before his death
Credit line
Upton House, The Bearsted Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
Verso: attached to the back of the stretcher: [?]M. J. Stewart-Florenci/? Mackenzie/February/1879 Verso: Christie's Stencil: 779 DW
Makers and roles
Francesco Guardi (Venice 1712 - Venice 1793), artist
Exhibition history
Francesco Guardi (1712-1793) Commemorating the third Centenary of the artist's birth, Museo Correr, Venice, 2012 - 2013, no.83 Souvenirs of the Grand Tour, Wildenstein, London, 1982, no.30
References
Simonson 1904 G.A. Simonson, Guardi, London, 1904, pp.44, 94 Lange 1911 K. Lange, Guardi Segenspendung Papst Pius VI', Müncher Jahrbuch, VI, 1911, p.279 Simonson 1920 G.A. Simonson, Guardi's Pictures of the Papal Benediction', Burlington Magazine, XXXVI, 1920, pp.93-94 Borenius 1922-23 T. Borenius, Il Contributo dell'Inghilterra alla Mostra di Palazzo Pitti', Dedalo, III, 1922-23, pp.99, 104, repd Fiocco 1923 G. Fiocco, Guardi, Florence, 1923 Ojetti, Dami, Tarchiani, 1924: V. Ojetti, L. Dami, N. Tarchiani, La Pittura Italiana del Seicento e del Settecento, Rome, 1924, p.153 Morassi 1973: Antonio Morassi, Guardi: L'opera completa di Antonio e Francesco Guardi, Venice, 1973, I, p. 360, no. 268, fig. 299 Bartolatto 1974 L.A. Bartolatto, L'Opera completa di Guardi, 1974 , no.697
