Richard Parkes Bonington - View of the Lagoon Near Venice (c. 1820)
- Title: View of the Lagoon Near Venice
- Artist: Richard Parkes Bonington (1802-1828)
- Date: c. 1820
- Medium: Oil on cardboard
- Dimensions: 30 x 43 cm
- Location: Le Louvre, Paris, France
- Photo credit: GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre) / Stéphane Maréchalle / cropped by Roland to remove edges of cardboard and background of photo
Richard Parkes Bonington’s "View of the Lagoon Near Venice" is a small Romantic seascape. It shows the Venetian lagoon under a vast, changeable sky, its low horizon emphasizing the immensity of air and water.
In the foreground, a dark little boat with a standing figure glides between weathered wooden posts that punctuate the calm, glassy surface of the water. Further back, faint sails and the distant line of the city dissolve into the haze, so that Venice itself appears almost like a mirage at the edge of the scene.
Bonington paints the sky as the true subject: layered clouds in lilac, gray, and warm cream sweep across the panel, catching the light in broken, fluid strokes. Reflections shimmer softly on the lagoon, and the subtle greens and violets of the water echo the tones of the clouds above, creating a quiet dialogue between sky and sea.
The mood is contemplative rather than dramatic, suggesting a pause between weather changes or between day and evening. The painting captures an impression of fleeting atmosphere, turning a modest corner of the lagoon into a poetic meditation on light, distance, and solitude.
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