Anon. View of Santa Maria della Salute on the Grand Canal, Venice

An original c.1900 oil painting View of Santa Maria della Salute on the Grand Canal, Venice.

An absolutely charming veduta oil showing an iconic view on the Grand Canal in Venice. The bustle of figures in the foreground captures a slice of life on the Venetian waterside: finely dressed tourists gather to be transported by gondola while barefooted local figures sell vegetables on the quay.

The painting is in the unmistakable vedute style, which had its origins in the 18th-century work of Canaletto. Canaletto's grand and intricate compositions reflected the 'stage-set'-like quality of the buildings of Venice. Whilst seemingly topographically accurate, he would often distort and manipulate views to suit his pictorial ends.

This oil is curiously inscribed 'Edith Lydia Proctor 1900' on the reverse. It is unclear whether this is the artist and date of execution. The canvas itself, Kemp & Co, Holden Terrace, Pimlico, dates from somewhat earlier, 1877–89. There is record of an Edith Lydia Proctor (1868–1945), born in Dover to John Gill Proctor, 'house agent and stationer', and Lydia Owen Mackie. She married James Henry Wainhouse (1859–1923) of Salford, Lancashire, who appears at one point to have previously been stationed at Cahir Barracks, Tipperary. Edith died at Paddington, London in 1945. It is a tantalising possibility that this sumptuously detailed Grand Tour subject was by an unknown female hand at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and this certainly adds to the painting's compelling charm. The painting also evidences the enduring popularity of the Canaletto's Venice in Britain.

Oil on canvas on stretchers.