Finberg somewhat redundantly annotated his 1909
Inventory entry (‘Various sketches of the Campanile and Towers of St. Mark’s, and the entrance to the Grand Canal, with San Giorgio and the Salute’): ‘Various sketches of Salute, Doge’s Pal. & Campanile, San Giorgio &c’.
1Six swift views are arranged in a grid, divided here and there by pencil lines. At the top left are the domes of Santa Maria della Salute and the porch of the Dogana with the campanile of St Mark’s to the north-east across the Bacino beyond, from the Canale della Giudecca. At the top right is a view north over the water to the Piazzetta flanked by the campanile and domes of the basilica of St Mark’s, with the Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace) below to the right. The settings and orientation of the two central shipping studies is less certain.
Below are two laterally compressed variations of the view from the Canale di San Marco east of the island and church of San Giorgio Maggiore, flanked by its campanile on the left and St Mark’s away to the north-west on the right, with the domes of the Salute coming into view in the second study. As Ian Warrell has noted,
2 the disks in the first and last drawings (the latter with a zigzag reflection) indicate the setting sun. There are more detailed studies from similar viewpoints, presumably made on the same occasion, on folio 50 verso (
D14410).
For other drawings made in the vicinity and an overview of Turner’s coverage of Venice, see the sketchbook’s Introduction.
