Lot 30 D α

It is sunset on the Grand Canal and over the Bacino di San Marco. The Doge's Palace glows in the golden light of Venice. In the distance, the domes of Santa Maria della Salute emerge against the backdrop of a fiery pink sky. This painting is the quintessence of a romantic understanding of Venice, whose leading master was Friedrich Nerly. Venice's bustling nature as a city of trade and fairy tales is captured in minute detail. Ships are anchored in the Bacino, gondolas carry members of high society across the mirror-smooth water, glistening silvery in the warm evening light. Nerly has rendered fantastic lighting effects in this veduta with picturesque brilliance.
Few artists after Canaletto are likely to have given as much emphasis to Venetian views in their oeuvre as Friedrich Nerly. His calling was to capture the atmosphere of a picturesque, idealised Venice. Influenced by the Romantic movements of the 19th century, the Erfurt-based artist drew inspiration from the art of Caspar David Friedrich and William Turner. The latter worked in Venice from 1819 to 1821 and was an important source of inspiration for Nerly. He became one of the most sought-after vedutisti of his generation and made a name for himself on the international market as one of the best-known German landscape painters.
Nerly, who was born in Erfurt as Christian Friedrich Nehrlich, arrived in the lagoon city on his return from a several-year stay in Rome. He had moved to Rome at the age of 21 and actually wanted to return to Germany in 1835. After a lengthy stay in Milan, he finally arrived in Venice in 1837 and remained there for the rest of his life. Through his marriage to a Venetian noblewoman, Nerly gained access to Venetian society. The Palazzo Pisani served as his home and studio. With the exception of a few short trips, Nerly never left the lagoon city until his death in 1878.