Assuming the masses of the somewhat schematic left-hand foreground are accurately represented, the view to the churches there is now obscured by boatsheds and other waterfront buildings. Compare various views in the contemporary
Venice and Botzen sketchbook (Tate
D31846,
D31868–D31869; Turner Bequest CCCXIII 29, 40, 40a). Ian Warrell has noted that Turner ‘exaggerated the width of the canal’ to allow for the iconic skyline,
5 and Robert Upstone suggested that Turner ‘compacted the composition for pictorial effect, indicating that he might have considered using it for a finished design.’
6 Finberg recognised the similarity of the viewpoint in the watercolour
Storm at Sunset (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge),
7 from the so-called ‘Storm’ sketchbook (see the Introduction to the 1840
Grand Canal and Giudecca sketchbook; Tate; Turner Bequest CCCXV).
8 The effects of light and weather there are rather more dramatic, ‘with a felucca chased by the wind’;
9 a similar vessel, likely a
bragozzo fishing boat typical of the region, is shown in silhouette, moored on the left here.
10