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Lot Essay
Between 1895 and 1904, Sickert made several visits to Venice, returning again and again to his favourite subjects. Built where the Grand Canal and the Giudecca Canal meet, Santa Maria della Salute is one of the city's most distinguished buildings. When he first visited the city, Sickert painted it in the middle distance, echoing the panoramic tradition set by Canaletto and Francesco Guardi. By 1900 he had abandoned this, instead painting it up close, rising as it appears to out of the canal.
Sickert's depictions of the Salute in 1900 were uncompromised and painted with dark pigments, and, when exhibited at Parisian art dealer Durand-Ruel, were not a commercial success. In April the following year, Sickert wrote to the dealer reassuring him that he would brighten his palette: 'I have managed to achieve a light colour harmony quite different from anything you have seen of mine so far'. This new treatment was an immediate success and Bernhem-Jeune were keen to handle his paintings: in June 1904 they included thirty-two depictions of Venice in their exhibition dedicated to the artist. The present work may have been exhibited in the later Bernheim-Jeune exhibition in 1907.
Sickert's depictions of the Salute in 1900 were uncompromised and painted with dark pigments, and, when exhibited at Parisian art dealer Durand-Ruel, were not a commercial success. In April the following year, Sickert wrote to the dealer reassuring him that he would brighten his palette: 'I have managed to achieve a light colour harmony quite different from anything you have seen of mine so far'. This new treatment was an immediate success and Bernhem-Jeune were keen to handle his paintings: in June 1904 they included thirty-two depictions of Venice in their exhibition dedicated to the artist. The present work may have been exhibited in the later Bernheim-Jeune exhibition in 1907.