Regatta in Venice
Regatta in Venice is a small oil-on canvas-painting executed c. 1770 by Francesco Guardi. It is now in The Frick Collection, New York. The painting was gifted to the museum by Helen Clay Frick, the daughter of Henry Clay Frick, who founded the Frick Collection. Its dimensions are 48.6 x 78.4 cm. The painting depicts the Grand Canal (Venice). In the distance the Rialto Bridge is visible alongside the bell tower of the church of San Bartolomeo and the dome of the Church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice. Guardi has included this fifteenth century Italian Gothic Church as well as the more recent seventeenth century bell tower, documenting both historical and contemporary changes in the urban landscape. In the foreground of the painting Guardi paints the Palazzo Balbi built by Alessandro Vittoria from 1582 as the residence of the Venetian patrician family of the Balbi. Guardi fills the Palazzo Balbi with people pouring onto balconies. This brings the viewer's attention to the regatta, the traditional Venetian boat race. Guardi has depicted the most exciting part of the Regatta race: the paleto. The paleto is a turning post that stands in the middle of the Grand Canal. At this juncture,