Venice view, by Jean-Baptiste Van Moer (Brussels, 1819 – Ixelles, 1884)

This lively view of Venice centres on a large terrace with a balustrade overlooking the lagoon, where a few market traders have set up their stalls with baskets of fruit and vegetables, not far from a cluster of masts belonging to moored boats. A solitary figure, seen from behind, contemplates the panorama unfolding before her: the line of domes and bell towers of the lagoon stands out in a soft, pearly light, characteristic of the atmospheric treatment so dear to the artist. This contrast between the picturesque bustle of the foreground and the silent grandeur of the city in the background is typical of Van Moer’s style, as he skilfully combined genre painting with topographical views, capturing the light with remarkable accuracy. oil on canvas signed JB. Van Moer and dated 1874.

Size: H 42 cm x W 68.5 cm — with frame: 51.5 cm x W 76.5 cm

Belgian school of the second part of the 19th century.

The canvas has been cleaned and re-varnished by a professional restorer, and has been re-stretched in accordance with best practice, ensuring its proper preservation. The original frame, the back of which bears the stamp of a Prague framer—attesting to the work’s history within a Central European collection—has been re-gilded with the leaf technique, thus restoring the full splendour of its original gilding.

Lit: Jean-Baptiste Van Moer was born in Brussels in 1819 and trained within the Belgian Romantic school, before turning his hand very early on to painting cityscapes and architectural landscapes, a genre in which he was to establish a lasting reputation. He first made his mark with his depictions of old Brussels, notably his views of the Senne and the working-class neighbourhoods destined for demolition during the major urban redevelopment projects of nineteenth-century Brussels, documenting a city in the midst of radical change with an almost photographic sensitivity. A tireless traveller, he subsequently travelled through France, Spain and, above all, Italy, where Venice became one of his favourite subjects: he stayed there on several occasions between the 1860s and 1870s, producing numerous views of the Grand Canal, the Doge’s Palace and St Mark’s Basin, in which he excelled at capturing the shifting light of the lagoon. Van Moer died in Ixelles in 1884, leaving behind a prolific body of work now held in several Belgian institutions, foremost among which are the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, which house, in particular, his painting *Brussels in 1868*, as well as Brussels City Hall, which holds his *View of Brussels: the Senne seen from Rue du Miroir*; his Venetian works, such as *Venice, View from the Doge’s Palace* or *The Grand Canal, Venice*, have, for their part, regularly appeared at public auctions and are now held in several private European collections.