Artwork
Venice: The Dogana and San Giorgio Maggiore
Venice: The Dogana and San Giorgio Maggiore is an oil painting by the British Romanticist artist Joseph Mallord William Turner. It dates from 1834 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. J.
About this work
Sunlight shatters across the Grand Canal as Turner fixes his gaze on the Punta della Dogana and the distant campanile of San Giorgio Maggiore.
Sunlight shatters across the Grand Canal as Turner fixes his gaze on the Punta della Dogana and the distant campanile of San Giorgio Maggiore. Commissioned by Manchester cotton spinner Henry McConnel, the canvas debuted at the Royal Academy in 1834. Its companion, Keelmen Heaving in Coals by Moonlight, followed in 1835 as a contrast. Joseph E. Widener gave it to the National Gallery of Art in 1942.
Subject & Meaning
This work is a veduta (topographical cityscape) of Venice, specifically focusing on the Punta della Dogana (customs house) and the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore across the water. Turner populates the scene with gondolas, sailing ships, and a bright, cloud-filled sky, emphasizing the city's maritime character and atmospheric light. Painted for textile manufacturer Henry McConnel in 1834, it was conceived as a deliberate contrast to a companion canvas commissioned the following year, Keelmen Heaving in Coals by Moonlight, which depicts an industrial seaport in northern England.
This pairing underscores Venice as a timeless, picturesque, and historically rich setting, standing in opposition to modern, labor-intensive industry. The painting thus represents not only a specific Venetian locale but also an idealized, romantic vision of the city's beauty and cultural heritage.
History & Provenance
J.M.W. Turner painted Venice: The Dogana and San Giorgio Maggiore in 1834 for Henry McConnel, a Manchester textile manufacturer and pioneering art collector in Lancashire. The work was exhibited at the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition that same year. McConnel sold the painting in 1849 to John Naylor of Leighton Hall, Liverpool, and it later passed to Naylor's wife.
In 1910, the canvas was purchased through Dyer and Sons by Thos. Agnew & Sons, Ltd., in joint ownership with Arthur J. Sulley & Co. It was then acquired on 13 June 1910 by Peter A.B. Widener of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.
The painting was eventually inherited by his son Joseph E. Widener, who gifted it to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
The painting is in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., as part of the Widener Collection, having been gifted through the power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener from the estate of Peter A.B. Widener. It was exhibited at the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition in 1834. No accession number is specified in the provided sources.
Overview
J. M. W. Turner's oil on canvas, "Venice: The Dogana and San Giorgio Maggiore," was completed in 1834. This landscape depicts a characteristic Venetian scene, focusing on the Punta della Dogana customs house and the distant San Giorgio Maggiore church. The painting was first presented to the public at the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition in London during the year of its creation. It is now part of the collection at the National Gallery of Art.
Context
The commission for this Venetian scene was part of a pair, intended to offer a deliberate contrast. While "Venice: The Dogana and San Giorgio Maggiore" showcases the luminous light and historic architecture of Italy, its companion, "Keelmen Heaving in Coals by Moonlight," presented a starkly different vision of northern England's industrial activity under a nocturnal sky. This pairing underscores Turner's diverse interests in both natural beauty and contemporary life.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner was born in 1775 at Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, where his father kept a barber and wig-making shop.
