A Venetian Capriccio; A Rio Leading to a Bridge c. 1780 - 1785

This Venetian scene was made by Francesco Guardi using pen and brown ink with brown wash over graphite. It may seem like a simple sketch, but the freehand quality of the line belies its importance as a means to an end. Venice in the 18th century was a booming tourist destination, and Guardi made a living by recording the city’s famous views in paint and ink for foreign visitors. The relatively quick medium of ink wash allowed him to be prolific; he could produce many of these images with a rapid fluidity, as studies or to be sold themselves. The architecture is rendered with precision and an acute eye for light and shadow. Consider the labor that went into Venice itself – quarrying the stone, transporting it, and then building all those canals and palazzi. By reducing that intense effort to a simple, portable image, Guardi was participating in a widespread commodification of place. We are reminded that making, and the modes of production, are key to understanding even a seemingly straightforward drawing like this one.