Francesco Guardi, Italian, 1712-1793
Title: The Doge wedding the Adriatic
Date: c.1780
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
39 x 57 cm
Credit Line: Purchased, 1864
Object Number: NGI.92
Exhibition HistoryCentenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964
From Titian to Delacroix: Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Ireland, Yokohama Sogo Museum of Art, 25 August 1993 - 17 October 1993; Chiba Sogo Museum of Art, 10 November 1993 - 20 December 1993; Prefectural Museum of Art, Yamaguchi, 5 January 1994 - 20 February 1994; Kobe City Museum, 25 February 1994 - 10 April 1994; Isetan Museum of Art, 14 April 1994 - 24 May 1994
European Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Ireland, National Gallery, Canberra, 25 June 1994 - 3 October 1994; Art Gallery of New South Wales, 21 October 1994 - 15 January 1995
From Titian to Delacroix: Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Ireland, Yokohama Sogo Museum of Art, 25 August 1993 - 17 October 1993; Chiba Sogo Museum of Art, 10 November 1993 - 20 December 1993; Prefectural Museum of Art, Yamaguchi, 5 January 1994 - 20 February 1994; Kobe City Museum, 25 February 1994 - 10 April 1994; Isetan Museum of Art, 14 April 1994 - 24 May 1994
European Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Ireland, National Gallery, Canberra, 25 June 1994 - 3 October 1994; Art Gallery of New South Wales, 21 October 1994 - 15 January 1995
Label TextGuardi, like Canaletto and Bellotto, painted many views of his native Venice. Here, he depicts a ceremonial occasion which took place annually on Ascension Day. The Doge, surrounded by his entourage, would travel in the gilded state barge to the mouth of the Lido. Then, as a symbol of Venetian naval power, he would throw a gold ring into the sea. This wedding ritual commemorated Venice’s defence of the Papacy against Frederick Barbarossa in 1177.