Skip to main content
In 1885 Smillie and his wife, Nellie, made an extended tour of Europe. Smillie, perhaps drawn to Venice through the accounts of his fellow painter-etchers, Otto Henry Bacher (1856-1909) and Samuel Colman (1832-1920), painted this view across the Venetian lagoon twice. Smillie often marveled at how landscape painting could express an endless variety of emotions.
Exhibition History"Unmasking Venice: American Artists and the City of Water," Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, May 28- September 5, 2022.
Artist
George Henry Smillie
(American, 1840 - 1921)
Boats of Venice
Dateca. 1885
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsFramed: 23 × 30 7/8 × 2 1/2 in. (58.4 × 78.4 × 6.4 cm)
Sight: 15 1/2 × 23 1/4 in. (39.4 × 59.1 cm)
Object numberN0005.2022
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Museum Purchase
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextA covered gondola approaches fishing boats creating an interesting juxtaposition of high and low class. These interactions between wealthy and working-class Venetians were more likely to occur within the lagoon, one of the more heavily travelled and fished waterways in Venice. Covered gondolas were favored by the wealthy during the nineteenth century; their small cabins (felze) provided protection from prying eyes and weather. Smillie’s true fascination lay with the fishermen working their nets, their brightly colored sails dominating the composition, while in the distance the domes of Santa Maria della Salute, and the campanile di San Marco orient our view across the lagoon. In 1885 Smillie and his wife, Nellie, made an extended tour of Europe. Smillie, perhaps drawn to Venice through the accounts of his fellow painter-etchers, Otto Henry Bacher (1856-1909) and Samuel Colman (1832-1920), painted this view across the Venetian lagoon twice. Smillie often marveled at how landscape painting could express an endless variety of emotions.
Exhibition History"Unmasking Venice: American Artists and the City of Water," Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, May 28- September 5, 2022.
On View
On view
