A Venetian Scene 1828

Richard Parkes Bonington painted this Venetian scene in watercolor, sometime in the 1820s. Venice, by this time, was less a functioning Republic than a set of stage props for wealthy tourists. Bonington, who was English, was one of many artists drawn to the city. But this isn't simply a picturesque view. It’s a drama. What kind of drama? Well, the costumes, the architecture, the dark-skinned attendant with a falcon – these things point us back to the Renaissance. The composition is very carefully arranged to create both movement and hierarchy. We see a man and woman at the center, surrounded by attendants. This staging reminds us that Venice had become a museum of its own past. To understand Bonington's painting fully, we need to think about the cultural context, considering who traveled to Venice, what they expected to see, and how artists like Bonington made a living by catering to those expectations.