A nocturnal view of the Canal Grande, Venice,
bears signature lower right ‘Gio. Grubas’ and and bears indistinct signature lower left ‘Colle Leone f/…..’,
oil on canvas, 85 x 126 cm, framed

We are grateful to Fabrizio Magani for confirming the attribution of the present painting on the basis of a high resolution digital photograph.

The present painting shows a night regatta on the Canal Grande. At the centre of the scene, in the background, it can be seen the Punta della Dogana with the dome of the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute.

The procession, depicted at night, could be related to the Festa del Redentore (Feast of Redeemer), which takes place on the third Sunday of July, in commemoration of the building of the Church of the Redentore, by Andrea Palladio, on the Giudecca 1576.

By the end of the 19th century the civic festivities began to lose their institutional importance, although they continued to be celebrated during the periods of Austrian domination and subsequently Italy’s unification. Venice started to be considered essentially as a tourist destination and the ceremonies featuring Settecento garments attracted a large public. Nineteenth century painters of vedute depicted these typical celebrations and among them, Giovanni Grubacs was one of the most important artists of his generation.

Giovanni, whose family originate from Istria, was the son of Carlo, a vedutista painter active in the first half of the nineteenth century. Giovanni studied at the Academy in Venice; at the beginning of his career he orientated himself on eighteenth century cityscapes and later turned towards more contemporary depictions. During this period a new subgenre developed in Venice, the nocturnal view. One of the subgenre’s initial interpreters was Ippolito Caffi, of whom Grubacs was amongst his first admirers. Grubacs started to add to his production of traditional views these new kinds of representations, which were to remain popular in Venice until the end of the century.

The present painting is a significant example of a nocturnal view, in which the artist enlivened the atmosphere so typical of Venice with the shimmering lights.