Régates à Venise

After studying architecture in Dijon, Ziem worked as a surveyor on the construction of the Marseille canal, before his watercolours attracted the patronage of Ferdinand-Philippe, Duc d'Orléans. In 1842, he visited Italy for the first time and fell in love with Venice. Ziem travelled to Venice numerous times between 1842 and 1897, sometimes painting from a floating studio on a gondola. Whilst the artist also painted in Constantinople, North Africa and in the forest of Fontainebleau, his views of Venice are his most compelling and sought-after compositions.
The present lot glorifies both Venice’s architecture and the city's role as a merchant port as the majestic sails of the ship open in the wind and head onwards out to the Adriatic sea.

A certificate issued by the Association Félix Ziem is available. We are grateful to Mathias Ary-Jan, David Pluskwa and Gérard Fabre of the Association Félix Ziem who confirmed the authenticity of the present lot.