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Lot Essay
The Bucintoro was the state galley of the doges of Venice and used every year on Ascension Day up to 1798 to take the doge out to the Adriatic Sea to perform 'The Marriage of the Sea', a ceremony that symbolically wedded Venice to the sea every year on Ascension Day.
An almost identical view by the artist was sold at Christie's, New York, 27 January 2000, lot 108. The present composition is also very comparable to The Return of the Bucintoro to the Molo on Ascension Day by Canaletto, 1732 in the Royal Collection, Windsor of 1732. These paintings show the same festive construction at the entrance of the piazza between the two columns in celebration of the 'Festa della Sensa' (Ascension Day).
An almost identical view by the artist was sold at Christie's, New York, 27 January 2000, lot 108. The present composition is also very comparable to The Return of the Bucintoro to the Molo on Ascension Day by Canaletto, 1732 in the Royal Collection, Windsor of 1732. These paintings show the same festive construction at the entrance of the piazza between the two columns in celebration of the 'Festa della Sensa' (Ascension Day).