The sun is just beginning to set, casting more intense shadows, and the crepuscular light lends a pinkish hue to the clouds at right. The composition is expertly foreshortened at left and shows the architrave of the palazzo civran in close detail and stark light. The artist depicts the most lively stretch of the grand canal at venice’s commercial heart, looking south toward the rialto bridge and palazzo dei camerlenghi. The scene encapsulates the quotidian bustle of venetian life: the water is crowded with gondolas ferrying passengers and cargo to and fro, and the river banks are alive with people. Citizens cross the bridge from the eastern bank, with its opulent palazzi owned by prosperous venetians, to the palazzo dei camerlenghi, the seat of the financial magistrates and city's treasury. To the west, meanwhile, are the erberie and pescarie (grocery and fishmarkets) frequented by ordinary citizens, housed within the fabbriche vecchie and fabbriche nuove, just out of view at right. Object Type: painting. Dimensions: height: 52.5 cm (20.6 in); width: 84.9 cm (33.4 in). Medium: oil on canvas. A view of the Rialto Bridge
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