Venice and moonlight are a great combination.

Piazetta San Marco in Moonlight was painted by the German artist Friedrich Paul Nerly (1842-1919).

The column we see is one of the two monumental columns on the Piazetta San Marco (the square that is connected to the larger Piazza San Marco. On top of the column is a winged lion – the Lion of Venice – which is the symbol St. Mark (erected around 1268). In the past, there were rules that in the small area in between both columns two specific things would/could take place. First, it was the place where public executions took place, and second, in between the two columns people were allowed to gamble.

This artist is not to be confused with his father Friedrich von Nerly (1807-1848) who painted somewhat comparable Romantic scenes of Venice. Friedrich Paul traveled extensively across Europe and Italy, and painted beautiful landscapes and seascapes wherever he went, though he is best known for his seascapes today. He often chose a low vantage point, like he did in this painting, to emphasize the grandeur of the landscape and buildings that he included.

 Venice and moonlight are a great combination. Piazetta San

Venice has so much to offer to an artist.

Rio Tiorado, Venice was painted between 1894 and 1895 by the Austrian artist Franz Richard Unterberger (1838-1902).

Venice has inspired so many artists over the past centuries, and artists have focused on the various unique elements that this floating city has to offer. Some artists have focused on the unique atmospheric conditions, capturing the different weather conditions (think about Monet). Others have focused on its magnificent architecture (think about Canaletto). Even others have focused on the fashionable and colorful people that live there (think about Eugene de Blaas).

Unterberger specialized in painting Romantic scenes of landscapes, waterways, and architecture. And this painting sold in 2010 for almost 100,000 USD.

 Venice has so much to offer to an artist. Rio Tiorado

Venice, a View of the Piazzetta, with the Biblioteca Marciana, Santa Maria della Salute and the Dogana was painted by the German artist Oswald Achenbach (1827-1905).

The detailed title tells the different buildings that we see in this painting, including the impressive Santa Maria della Salute in the left background. But maybe more interesting to see is the liveliness of Venice on an average day in spring. The artist chose a low vantage point, as if we are observing all the activities from some steps on the square.

Oswald and his older brother Andreas were known as landscape painters, and so this work is not a very typical work by Oswald Achenbach. Whereas Oswald painted relatively calm and peaceful landscapes, Andreas is known for adding drama to his landscapes (like dramatic weather or waterfalls).

 The beauty of Venice. Venice, a View of the Piazzetta, with

How would you describe the atmosphere in this painting?

The Feast of the Redeemer in Venice (c. 1914) was painted by the Italian artist Ferruccio Scattola (1873-1950)

This feast, also known as The Festa del Redentore, is still celebrated in Venice today on the third Sunday of July (which is today). It commemorates the end of the plague that struck the city between 1575 and 1577. Fireworks play an important role during this feast, and we can see those in this painting.

Scattola used loose brush strokes to convey the magic of this Venetian feast, showing its blue waters, bridges, and lights. It is a wonderful impression of a warm, festive summer night in the floating city.

 How would you describe the atmosphere in this painting? The

A Young Beauty (1908) was painted by the Austrian-Italian artist Eugen de Blaas (1843-1932).

Whereas many artists that lived and worked in Venice focused on its unique architecture, the waterways, and atmospheric conditions of The Floating City, De Blaas focused instead on the everyday life of the Venetians.

He specialized in capturing the life and fashion of the beautiful women of the Venetian middle class, including washerwoman, fisherman families, and fruit and flower sellers. This portrait captures the Venetian beauty and the colorful elements in their outfits.

 A Venetian beauty. A Young Beauty (1908) was painted by the

Moonlit Night over Venice (1870) was painted by Josef Püttner (1821-1881), a German-Austrian artist who specialized in landscapes and seascapes.

And as I have discussed more often in posts here, it seems that many great seascape painters traveled extensively, allowing them to observe the weather conditions and the water surface under different circumstances. And in this work, the calm, nightly waters of Venice are shown, lit up by a full moon.

Püttner was born in Bohemia, and by age 30, he had stayed extensively in Germany, Austria, Hungary, The Netherlands, and Italy. And then, he took a long trip visiting Iceland, North America, and many countries in South America. And with all this traveling by boat, it may come as no surprise that he was a true specialist in paintings ships.

 La Serenissima. Moonlit Night over Venice (1870) was

Venice is one of the most inspiring places for painters.

Venice by Moonlight (1869) was painted by the Norwegian Sophus Jacobsen.

And while he wasn't familiar with Impressionism when he painted this, I'm sure the Impressionists would have appreciated it. Jacobsen was primarily active in Dusseldorf, Germany where he studied with Hans Gude. But he did travel through Europe for inspiration. And the light, landscape, and architecture certainly inspired, as it did to many artists over time.

And while in France, the beginnings of Impressionism were developed in the 1860s, Jacobsen was not familiar with this grassroots movement yet. But if you compare this work to some of the views of Venice painted by Claude Monet 40 years later, you can already see some of the Impressionist touches and ideas in this work.

 Venice is one of the most inspiring places for painters

Fictional characters have always inspired artists to paint creative works.

Pierrot's Embrace (1900) by Guillaume Seignac (1870-1924) shows how the naive clown Pierrot who is always looking for love (but usually fails) may have some success this time..

Pierrot is a stock character from the Venetian commedia dell'arte.

 Fictional characters have always inspired artists to paint

Édouard Manet was a mentor and inspiration to the most famous Impressionists.

And while he did not see himself as a typical Impressionist, some of his works are heavily inspired by their style.

Blue Venice is a great Impressionist work by Manet.

 Édouard Manet was a mentor and inspiration to the most

Whereas many famous artists visited Venice to capture its architecture, waterways, and unique light conditions, John Singer Sargent did not.

Street in Venice (1882) shows a backstreet, with the woman passing by hurriedly, worried by the men gazing at her.

The American John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) lived a large part of his life in Europe. He painted a large number of works in Venice, but often of the daily life away from the touristic places.

In Street in Venice, he kept the colors muted and dark on purpose, to heighten the sense of discomfort of the woman passing by.

And if you have read all the way to the end here, tell me if you have any favorite artworks made of Venice?

 Whereas many famous artists visited Venice to capture its

The Bridge of Sighs (c.1870) by Gustave Doré is not a photograph but a very detailed painting of this famous Venetian bridge. But if you would put it next to a photograph of today, the view would be almost identical (except for the smooth water).

This bridge was built in the beginning of the 17th century, and it connects the interrogation rooms of the Doge's Palace to prison. And this bridge got its name, Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri), because the view through the bridge's windows was supposedly the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment.

Doré (1832-1883) was a unique and versatile French artist who mastered many different themes and mediums, including being a printmaker, illustrator, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor.

 The attention to detail is incredible! The Bridge of Sighs

In 18th-century Venice, face masks were popular, not for quarantine but for gambling and flirting. Il Ridotto by Pietro Longhi shows these masked people in a gambling hall.

While the main gambling hall (the Ridotto) was open to everybody, the dress code and the high stakes limited entrance to the richest people.

 In 18th-century Venice, face masks were popular, not for

Secret Accusation (1848) is part of a triptych by Francesco Hayez (1791-1882) about a woman and her revenge on a lover who betrayed her.

The three paintings together are called the Revenge Triptych, and this is the second of the three paintings. It shows Maria posting an anonymous letter to publicly blame her former lover.

It shows a young Venetian woman wearing a black veil. Her low-cut green satin is quite revealing, but she is so disturbed by the situation that she does not care about that. On the left, we can see a carved lion’s head inside the Doge’s Palace where anonymous complaints can be filed.

In the third painting of the triptych (it is currently unknown where the original of this third part is), the woman will regret her choice of posting this letter, and she tries to stop the letter from being delivered.

 Italian Romanticism at its best. Secret Accusation (1848)

Twilight, Venice is a spectacularly colorful impression on the San Giorgio Maggiore church.

It is part of a series of paintings in which Monet depicted "The Floating City" under different atmospheric conditions.

 Twilight, Venice is a spectacularly colorful impression on

Like many great artists, Renoir visited Venice for inspiration. During his visit in October 1881, he made a series of quick Impressionist paintings, among this view of The Piazza San Marco.

 Like many great artists, Renoir visited Venice for

The shadows in this moonlight painting of Venice are wonderful!

A Moonlight View of the Piazza San Marco towards San Giorgio Maggiore (1871) was painted by Friedrich Nerly.

 The shadows in this moonlight painting of Venice are

Contemplation (1893) shows a Venetian woman in thought. It was painted by Eugene de Blaas who loved to paint the beautiful women of Venice.

His women are always a bit mysterious, engaging the viewer.

 What is she thinking about? Contemplation (1893) shows a

Beauty can be found in many elements of life!

Eugene de Blaas (1843-1931) found it primarily in flowers, women, and Venice, and he combined these elements in his genre paintings.

He painted The Flower Girl in 1911 in Venice, where he created most of his works.

 Beauty can be found in many elements of life! Eugene de

When you know they are looking at you, but you ignore them.. The Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan (1501) by Giovanni Bellini is a formal portrait that resembles a sculpted bust.

 When you know they are looking at you, but you ignore

J. M. W. Turner (1775-1851) is one of many great artists who has painted Venice.

And while he visited the city three times, he did not mind to add some imaginary elements to his views, like in The Dogana and San Giorgio Maggiore.

 J. M. W. Turner (1775-1851) is one of many great artists

A street in Venice (1882) by John Singer Sargent shows an unconventional view of The Floating City.

Artists sometimes have a different idea than common people. Whereas numerous artists have traveled to Venice to capture its beautiful atmosphere, canals, architecture, and fashion, John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) deliberately chose to capture scenes from everyday life.

Standing in an insignificant narrow alleyway are two Venetians. The woman is standing at the entrance to a wine cellar. She looks at us, as if we have interrupted their meeting. But the man seems unaware of our presence.

 Sorry for interrupting. A street in Venice (1882) by John

This timeless and colorful Water Carrier (1908) by Eugene de Blaas is posing on a bridge in Venice.

The Italian painter De Blaas loved to capture beautiful people engaged in daily activities against a backdrop of Italy's past.

 This timeless and colorful Water Carrier (1908) by Eugene

The Palazzo Labia, Venice is another watercolor painting by the Peruvian artist Federico del Campo (1837-1923).

Del Campo was mainly active in Venice during this career, and he was one of the leading veduta painters there. was a Peruvian painter who was active in Venice where he was one of the leading vedute (detailed vistas) painters of the 19th century.

The Palazzo Labia is a Baroque-style palace in Venice built in the late-17th century, and it is one of the last great palazzi of Venice. And inside you can find a wonderful ballroom with frescoes painted by the Venetian Rococo artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.

From a distance, the painting looks very realistic, though from up-close you can see the different patches of paint. It contains most of the iconic elements of Venice, a large palazzo, the canal, a gondola, and one of those typical little bridges.

 Another beautiful view of Venice. The Palazzo Labia, Venice

The Eavesdropper is a typical scene by Eugene de Blaas (1843-1931), who loved to paint daily life in Venice with a  funny twist.

 What are they talking about outside? The Eavesdropper is a

The Grand Canal at Moonlight shows the magic of Venice before the abundance of artificial gaslights.

It was painted by Friedrich Paul Nerly (1842-1919) who loved to painted city- and seascapes.

 The Grand Canal at Moonlight shows the magic of Venice

Monet told his wife repeatedly that Venice was too beautiful to paint. But after one week in Venice he could not contain himself any longer.

This version of The Grand Canal, Venice is in the Legion of Honor Museum.

He painted several other versions of this view at different times of the day and under different atmospheric conditions that are on display around the world.

 Monet told his wife repeatedly that Venice was too

Which came first: the chicken or the egg?

Which Came First (1899) was painted by Eugene de Blaas (1843-1931), who loved to capture the everyday beauty of Venice and her female citizens.

It's a question that has kept people busy for centuries, and the more precise formulation is "Which came first: the chicken or the chicken's egg?". The chicken is necessary to lay the egg, but no egg without the chicken. There are discussions about this question from so many points of view (scientific, philosophical, etc.) and I won't bore you with those, even though the lady in De Blaas' painting seems to be challenging us to answer the question.

Unlike many other artists that painted Venice, De Blaas did not focus on capturing its grandeur and mesmerizing atmosphere. Instead, he focused on the daily life of the Venetians which took place in the narrow streets.

 Which came first: the chicken or the egg? Which Came First

A 21-year old Francesco Hayez painted this luminous scene of Rinaldo and Armida in 1812.It is a 16th-century story about a heroic warrior who is seduced by a pretty woman who holds him imprisoned in a magical garden.

The story comes from a poem from the Italian Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso.

 A 21-year old Francesco Hayez painted this luminous scene

Shared Correspondence (1899) by Eugene de Blaas shows two Venetian women gathered around the vera da pozzo, the opening of the well, discussing the content of a letter she just received.

 What's in the letter? Shared Correspondence (1899) by

Eugene de Blaas (1843-1931) loved to capture the beauty of Venice. But not the architectural beauty and the canals that Venice is best known for.

Two Venetian Women (1898) is a great example of the everyday beauty that De Blaas was looking for. He loved to paint genre pieces, showing (slightly idealized) scenes from everyday life in Venice. And the people of Venice were great subjects for that.

 Eugene de Blaas (1843-1931) loved to capture the beauty of

I'd love to make a gondola ride to see this sunset in Venice! This is one Claude Monet's versions of San Giorgio Maggiore by Twilight.

 I'd love to make a gondola ride to see this sunset in

Our memories may not always accurate, but that does not make them less beautiful.

This is certainly true for Ippolito Caffi who captured here his memory of The Eclipse of the Sun in Venice in 1842.