Provenance

Private collection, UK.

When she enrolled at the Accademia di Belle Arti in 1867, Antonietta Brandeis was one of only two female students in her class. This did not stop her from graduating at the top of her class and beginning her career of painting views similar to these ones. In the 1860s, she had moved to Venice with her Widowed mother, from modern-day Czechia. By the mid-1880s, Brandeis was living at no. 1494 on the Campo San Giacomo dall’Orio, and she resided there until at least 1906. 

The present work is large in comparison to a lot of those created by Brandeis, however it still depicts a well-known view in Venice. Other paintings of the same view are known, including another, smaller, view of the Rialto Bridge, with Charles Beddington Ltd. The bridge is one of only four that cross the Grand Canal. Here, it has been animated by numerous passers-by, including police officers. This is usual for Brandeis, who was able to pay an incredible amount of attention to detail not only in her architectural depictions but also depictions of those things surrounding the architecture.  The result of the translation of this to a larger canvas is an impressive addition to her Oeuvre.