Antonio Canaletto: "The return of the Bucentaur to the pier at the Doge's Palace"

[Anatol]

The painting "The Return of “Bucentaur” to the Pier at the Doge's Palace" was commissioned by the French ambassador to the Venetian Republic, Comte de Gergy, in memory of the restoration of diplomatic relations between France and Venice. A pair of work for her is the painting: "Reception of the French Ambassador in Venice."
Ascension Day, or as the Venetians called it - La Sensa, was considered the main holiday of the city. On this day, May 13, 998, Doge Pietro II set off on a sea campaign, in which he won an important victory over Dalmatia. In memory of this event, a solemn ritual of the Betrothal of Venice to the Adriatic Sea was held annually. The symbolic betrothal was supposed to favor the fleet, the development of trade and the prosperity of the city. Initially, the ceremony consisted of a simple prayer addressed to the sea, asking that it remain favorable to the Venetians. In the XII century, the rite underwent changes. In 1177, Pope Alexander III visited the city. During the celebration, he removed a precious ring from the doge's finger, read a prayer over it and ordered it to be thrown into the sea. This is how a tradition was born, which from year to year became more and more large-scale and colorful, acquiring a quasi-sacred character. Now it began at Piazza San Marco, where the Doge led a solemn procession to a richly decorated galley. On it, he set sail to Fort San Andrea near the island of Lido, where he threw his ring into the sea. The ceremony ended with a church service in the Cathedral of San Nicolò di Lido.
The official ceremonial boat of the Doge received a proper name – “Bucentaur” (see viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7468 ). Its length was 30 meters, width - 6 meters. The last and most magnificent Bucentaur was built according to the design of Stefano Conti for 10 years and was launched in 1729.
The multi-figure canvas in the background depicts the docking of the Doge's boat after the end of the ceremony of the Betrothal of Venice with the Adriatic Sea. In the center of the composition are the gondolas of the French embassy, decorated with gold and flowers, accompanying Bucentaur during the solemn procession. There are many other boats around the main ships. They are seated in festively dressed people, representatives of the noble families of Venice and ordinary citizens in carnival costumes and masks. The background of the magnificent ceremony is the urban landscape: the Doge's Palace, St. Mark's Square, the arcade of the Marchiana Library and the high bell tower of the Cathedral of San Marco. All architectural elements and buildings are rendered very accurately, they are still easily recognizable in modern photographs. The artist skillfully inscribes genre mise-en-scenes into this landscape, paying attention to details and trifles: a smart crowd on the embankment and people watching what is happening from the balconies, a waving banner on a flagpole, decorated boats, a small dog at the stern of one of them, gondoliers calling to each other - everything this serves to convey the atmosphere of the holiday and carnival. Canaletto paints boats in such a way that there is a lot of water between them, which, combined with the sky, gives a feeling of soft light and warm diffused radiance, which makes the landscape look authentic, vital, “real.” The picture gained great fame and Canaletto created several options(see Guinea-Bissau).
Sunda Islands 2012(?); 5’.
Yemen 28в.
Guinea-Bissau 2003;450FCFA.
Source: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/