Francis Edward James (Willingdon, East Sussex, 1849 - 1920, Great Torrington, Devon)
Santa Maria della Salute from the Giudecca, Venice, before 1915
Watercolor on paper, 17 x 24 cm (6 11/16 x 9 7/16 in.)
This small horizontal watercolor painting is a view of Santa Maria Della Salute, a large domed church in Venice. The soft tones of this painting are primarily blue and brown. The church is situated on a strip of land that reaches horizontally, just below the middle of the painting. The dome of the church rises just to the left of center, with some narrow towers to the right of the dome. In front of the strip of land is a calm body of water, which occupies the foreground. Boats with slim brown masts are docked on the right. The sky in the upper half of the painting includes low bluish-brown or gray clouds.
Blue Room
Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.