The Grand Canal, Venice, looking north-west, from the Palazzo Corner to the Palazzo Contarini dagli Scrigni, by moonlight with elegant figures in gondolas

A student of the Accademia di Pittura in Venice, Bison was deeply imbued with the work of the great 18th century Venetian vedutiste artists. He subsequently excelled as a decorative painter producing designs for La Fenice as well as decorating the walls and ceilings of numerous palazzi in the Veneto. That the present picture is a night scene reflects Bison's interest in depicting dramatic lighting effects, visible in the fine capriccio in a private collection exhibited in Udine (G. Bergamimi et al., Giuseppe Bernardino Bison, pittore e disegnatore, Milan 1997, no. 24).

The Palazzo Corner, which features prominently on the right of the picture, was built by Jacopo Sansovino, the greatest architect working in Venice in the mid-16th century and was the most important palace built on the grand canal at that time. Its iconic status is confirmed by the pictures that were made of it in successive centuries, from Canaletto and Guardi to Sargent, and it would have been highly popular with the Grand Tourists who were Bison's intended audience.