Provenance

Private collection, Carmarthenshire, since the early 20th century. 

Born in modern-day Czechia, Antonietta Brandeis is believed to have moved to Italy with her mother, where she enrolled to train in the Accademia di Belle Arti. This was not Brandeis’s only period spent training as an artist; she had also trained under Karel Javůrek in Czechia. Significantly, however, in Venice, Brandeis was enrolled within an institution, being one of the only women involved within this at the time. The other woman enrolled at the same time was Caroline Higgins, a British artist.

It is thought that these small-scale views of Venice were painted to act in the same way as postcards, or as small souvenirs for visitors to Venice. From the known provenance of many paintings by Brandeis, it can be inferred that the majority of her clients were English or German visitors to Venice.

In the centre of the view is the façade of the Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore, designed by Andrea Palladio (1508-1580). The original monastery on the island was founded in the year 982.