Edward Pritchett - The Church of the Salute, Venice

signed and inscribed on an old label attached to the reverse of the frame: No. 8 E. PRITCHETT/ Church of the Salute, Venice

oil on canvas
36 by 56 in.
Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 98,400 GBP
http://www.sothebys.com/app/live/lot/LotDetail.jsp?sale_number=L07131&live_lot_id=29

Edward Pritchett specialised in paintings of the buildings and canals of Venice and painted almost nothing else. Thus he developed a deep knowledge for the ancient city which is expressed through his detailed views. Far from merely topographical, his paintings capture the essence of the beautiful city, with its crumbling stonework and picturesque locals. Little is known about Pritchett's life and career although he exhibited widely at the Royal Academy between 1828 and 1864 and at Suffolk Street and the British Institution.

The present view depicts the mouth of the Grand Canal and the Dogana, dominated by the imposing church of Santa Maria della Salute with its soaring domes. In 1630 following the death of almost a third of Venice's population from an outbreak of plague, the surviving residents decided to build a church in thanks to the Madonna for sparing their lives. The resulting church wasn't completed until half a century later, in 1682. In The Companion Guide to Venice, in 1965 Hugh Honour described the resulting magnificence:

'If you come to Venice by sea--and any other approach is like entering a palace through the back door--the most prominent of the myriad architectural marvels that greet you is the church of Santa Maria della Salute. As if riding at anchor at the entrance to the Grand Canal, with its balloon-like dome weighed down by great baroque scrolls, this fabulous building dominates the scene even more than the Palazzo Ducale or San Giorgio Maggiore. It is the supreme masterpiece of the Venetian Baroque--and of its author Baldassare Longhena, one of the few Venetian architects whose personality is strong enough to glimmer through the mists of history. Contemporaries tell us that he was a short dapper man, always dressed in black, of quiet and gentle manners. He had the embarrassing habit of asking everyone he met their opinion of whatever work he then had in hand. But this apparent lack of self-assurance finds no echo in the magnificently extrovert and ebullient buildings he designed, least of all in Santa Maria della Salute.'


FL.1828-1864
Edward Pritchett specialised in paintings of the buildings and canals of Venice and painted almost nothing else. Thus he developed a deep knowledge for the ancient city which is expressed through his detailed views. Far from merely topographical, his paintings capture the essence of the beautiful city, with its crumbling stonework and picturesque locals. Little is known about Pritchett's life and career although he exhibited widely at the Royal Academy between 1828 and 1864 and at Suffolk Street and the British Institution.

http://www.artnet.com/artist/13796/edward-pritchett.html