CANALETTO
(b. 1697, Venezia, d. 1768, Venezia)

The Bucintoro, Venice

1745-50
Oil on canvas, 57 x 93 cm
Fundación Colección Thyssen-Bornemisza, Pedralbes

This painting records one of the most important festivals of the Venetian Republic, that of Ascension, which commemorates the symbolic marriage of the Doge (the head of State) with the Sea. The ceremony took place on the Bucintoro, the official barge which is shown here decorated for the occasion.