Lot Essay
We are grateful to John Munday for providing the following note:
The Church of the Gesuati, (otherwise known as Santa Maria del Rosario), is in fact just out of the picture at the left, but that was the title given to the picture when the artist began to paint in 1863. As the critics often observed, Cooke was more interested in depicting Venetian shipping and craft than in the famous skyline. In the present picture two rather unwieldy working boats lie alongside the Riva delle Zattere - the zattere were the lighters bringing in wood for the Venetians. The ruscono with its tall sickle-shaped stern is an exotic touch recorded by Cooke, and of course is now no longer to be seen. On this riva is the Pensione Calcina where John Ruskin, whom Cooke knew well, stayed in 1877. The church of San Giorgio Maggiore at the right, on its island, was a favourite subject of the artist who spent no less than ten seasons working in Venice between 1850 and 1877.
The Church of the Gesuati, (otherwise known as Santa Maria del Rosario), is in fact just out of the picture at the left, but that was the title given to the picture when the artist began to paint in 1863. As the critics often observed, Cooke was more interested in depicting Venetian shipping and craft than in the famous skyline. In the present picture two rather unwieldy working boats lie alongside the Riva delle Zattere - the zattere were the lighters bringing in wood for the Venetians. The ruscono with its tall sickle-shaped stern is an exotic touch recorded by Cooke, and of course is now no longer to be seen. On this riva is the Pensione Calcina where John Ruskin, whom Cooke knew well, stayed in 1877. The church of San Giorgio Maggiore at the right, on its island, was a favourite subject of the artist who spent no less than ten seasons working in Venice between 1850 and 1877.