Edward Pritchett (active 1828-1864), View of the Piazza San Marco

Edward Pritchett (active 1828-1864)

View of St. Mark's Square

Oil on canvas, 25 x 35,5 cm

With frame, 38 x 47 cm

Information about the life of the British-born painter Edward Pritchett appears particularly limited: in contemporary writings, he was appropriately described as an “elusive” character. Despite the absolute scarcity of biographical information about the painter, we can state with certainty that he lived for more than thirty years in Venice, creating views of the city of great value. The artist was particularly close to the circle of English painters active in the Veneto and, more generally, in Northern Italy, around the mid-nineteenth century: among these we remember John Wharlton, Bunney, James Holland, the Luke Fildes, Henry Woods, and, in a later generation, William Logsdail.

In the painting in question, Piazza San Marco appears animated by a series of lively figures, many of whom are in traditional costume: this aspect recalls many of the works requested by travellers, who, already from the end of the eighteenth century, chose Venice as a privileged stop on the Grand Tour. The lagoon is represented with light hues and soothing colours, which recall the works of the Anglo-Saxon masters active in Veneto around the middle of the nineteenth century.

This particular glimpse of Piazza San Marco, within which one can glimpse a sliver of the sumptuous profile of the Doge's Palace, attracted the attention of numerous artists during the nineteenth century: among these we remember masters such as Grubacs and Corot, who, in La Piazzatta, takes up this glimpse.