A Pleasing Unbalance - View of the Palazzo Morosini Sagredo in Venice

Palazzo Morosini Sagredo

30” x 40”

I chose this image to paint over the holidays because I wanted to depict a full frontal portrait of a Venetian building, and then contrast it with the diagonals of the boats.  The irregular verticals of the mooring posts create a pleasing unbalance as the viewer is invited into the frame via a somewhat shaky looking wooden foot bridge over the water.  

Like Canaletto, I am interested in the activity on the water. Although the buildings from 

the 15th century remain unchanged, the boats and vaporetto stop are of course contemporary.  

The soft shadows on the building facades may be compared to the shadows in the foreground - which are much deeper and darker and heavier. My palette for this painting consisted of burnt sienna, yellow ochre, cadmium orange and burnt umber for the facades.  Burnt umber, lamp black and cobalt blue for the windows.  For the blues of the boats I used cobalt blue and cerulean blue. The sky, on this sunny Venetian day, was composed of cerulean and a little cobalt blue and titanium white.  The mossy green and turquoise of the water was comprised of cobalt blue and black and also burnt umber, yellow ochre.  

While painting this view of Venice, I read an interesting passage in a book called Venetian Palaces by Raffaella Russo about this palazzo:

"Like many Venetian families, the Sagredos were descendants of an ancient Roman clan from the imperial period, and their name, Sagredo, is explained by the fact that their forbears were often entrusted with special state secrets."  

detail of Palazzo Morosini Sagredo

You may view price and availability on my website, as well as a few more of my recent works.  With thanks,

Rob