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Lot Essay
One of the most successful and widely exhibited of the Italian painters, Rubens Santoro's airy and atmospheric paintings of Venice rank among the artist's most beloved subjects. Before attending art school, the young Santoro learned the basics of painting and drawing from his father, the painter Giovanni Battista Santoro. Santoro spent little time in the studio, preferring the experience of painting al fresco. Thus it is not surprising that his palette is characterized by a bright array of colors. While his career took him to picturesque locales to paint, he continued to exhibit his work in Naples, Turin, Rome and Venice as well as abroad, winning numerous awards.
In the present work, Santoro presents a dreamy view of the Grand Canal where a group of gondolas drift along the canal against the backdrop of a Venetian palazzo. To the far right of the composition stands the famous Ca'Dario, one of the first Renaissance palaces in Venice, built in 1487 by noted architect Pietro Lombardo. Its late 15th Century facade features an array of multi-colored decorative roundels which the artist has rendered with painstaking detail.
In the present work, Santoro presents a dreamy view of the Grand Canal where a group of gondolas drift along the canal against the backdrop of a Venetian palazzo. To the far right of the composition stands the famous Ca'Dario, one of the first Renaissance palaces in Venice, built in 1487 by noted architect Pietro Lombardo. Its late 15th Century facade features an array of multi-colored decorative roundels which the artist has rendered with painstaking detail.