''Regatta in Venice'' is a small oil-on canvas-painting executed c. 1770 by

Francesco Guardi Francesco Lazzaro Guardi (; 5 October 1712 – 1 January 1793) was an Italian painter, nobleman, and a member of the Venetian School. He is considered to be among the last practitioners, along with his brothers, of the classic Venetian school of ...

. It is now in

The Frick Collection The Frick Collection is an art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection (normally at the Henry Clay Frick House, currently at the Frick Madison) features Old Master paintings and European fine and decorative arts, including works by B ...

, New York. The painting was gifted to the museum by

Helen Clay Frick Helen Clay Frick (September 2, 1888 – November 9, 1984) was an American philanthropist and art collector. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the third child of the coke and steel magnate Henry Clay Frick (1849–1919) and his wife ...

, the daughter of

Henry Clay Frick Henry Clay Frick (December 19, 1849 – December 2, 1919) was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company, and played a major ...

, who founded the Frick Collection. Its dimensions are 48.6 x 78.4 cm. The painting depicts the

Grand Canal (Venice) The Grand Canal ( it, Canal Grande ; vec, Canal Grando, anciently ''Canałasso'' ) is a channel in Venice, Italy. It forms one of the major water-traffic corridors in the city. One end of the canal leads into the lagoon near the Santa Luci ...

. In the distance the

Rialto Bridge The Rialto Bridge ( it, Ponte di Rialto; vec, Ponte de Rialto) is the oldest of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. Connecting the ' (districts) of San Marco and San Polo, it has been rebuilt several times since its fir ...

is visible alongside the bell tower of the church of San Bartolomeo and the dome of the Church of

Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice The Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, known in Venetian as San Zanipolo, is a church in the Castello ''sestiere'' of Venice, Italy. One of the largest churches in the city, it has the status of a minor basilica. After the 15th century the fu ...

. Guardi has included this fifteenth century Italian Gothic Church as well as the more recent seventeenth century bell tower, documenting both historical and contemporary changes in the urban landscape. In the foreground of the painting Guardi paints the

Palazzo Balbi Palazzo Balbi is a palace on the Canal Grande, Venice, northern Italy. It is included in the ''sestiere'' (quarter) of Dorsoduro, to the right of Ca' Foscari. Currently it is the seat of the President of the Veneto region and of the regional cou ...

built by

Alessandro Vittoria Alessandro Vittoria funerary monument - San Zaccaria, Venice Alessandro Vittoria (1525–1608) was an Italian Mannerist sculptor of the Venetian school, "one of the main representatives of the Venetian classical style" and rivalling Giamb ...

from 1582 as the residence of the Venetian patrician family of the Balbi. Guardi fills the Palazzo Balbi with people pouring onto balconies. This brings the viewer's attention to the

regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

, the traditional Venetian boat race. Guardi has depicted the most exciting part of the Regatta race: the paleto. The paleto is a turning post that stands in the middle of the Grand Canal. At this juncture, the boats begin to turn around and the winners normally take the lead. The figures in Guardi’s picture push their oars into the water in different directions in a hurry to spin their boats. The Venetian regatta race was normally preceded by bissone, traditional gondolier boats which would parade before the race to clear the waters and settle rowdy onlookers. Guardi paints these boats in bright colours with figures in matching costumes. Guardi's subject and style appears heavily Dutch influenced, with water, sky and light, prominent features in this architectural and perspectival composition. The cultural event and iconic architectural view was not uncommon in Guardi's time. Indeed, this very scene was also painted by Guardi's predecessor,

Canaletto Giovanni Antonio Canal (18 October 1697 – 19 April 1768), commonly known as Canaletto (), was an Italian painter from the Republic of Venice, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school. Painter of city views or ...

. Canaletto's ''The Grand Canal from the Palazzo Balbi'' in the

Uffizi Gallery The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...

is painted from a similar viewpoint.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Regatta in Venice 1770 paintings Paintings by Francesco Guardi Paintings in the Frick Collection Maritime paintings Paintings of Venice