Venice: The Dogana and Santa Maria della Salute

Francesco Guardi

Oil on canvas

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Guardi's shimmering view captures the entrance to Venice's Grand Canal, with the octagonal customs house of the Dogana and the great domed church of Santa Maria della Salute rising against a pearly sky. Gondolas and small boats crowd the sparkling lagoon, rendered with the quick, flickering brushstrokes that made Guardi the master of atmospheric Venetian vedute. Working in the twilight of the Venetian Republic, he transformed topographical precision into something more poetic, dissolving architecture into light and reflection. This is a captivating choice for anyone who loves the romance of Venice and the painterly freedom of the Rococo era.