(Palmanova 1762–1844 Milan)
A capriccio with palace by a canal; and
A capriccio with church and house on the lagoon,
oil on canvas, each 32.5 x 47 cm, framed, a pair (2)

We are gratful to Fabrizio Magani for confirming the attribution of the present paintings and for his help in cataloguing.

The swift, densely rounded brush-strokes with which the figures in the foreground are executed are typical of Bison. The artist’s style includes attention to details and in this way he follows the developments in genre painting that had taken place in Venice and in the Veneto from the 1740s.

The present compositions use of perspective leads the eye out across the lagoon and it is possible to see the influence of Canaletto in the great foreground portico which is a defining element in these scenes, as it is in the print of a Portico with a lantern from the album Vedute alter prese da i luoghi alter ideate da Antonio Canal (circa 1742).

The scenes depicted are animated by macchiette, figures carrying out daily activities and the present pair of paintings belong to the artist’s mature period. They can be compared with other works (see F. Magani, Giuseppe Bernardino Bison, Soncino 1993) (for more recent illustrations see: G. Pavanello, A. Craievich, D. Danza, Giuseppe Bernardino Bison, Trieste 2012, p. 259, ns. 404-405). The present examples are therefore works belonging to the artist’s Milanese period.