Lot 38 Dα

Few artists after Canaletto are likely to have given Venetian views as much prominence in their œuvre as Friedrich Nerly. In turn, the German painter's views, alongside those of a number of English painters in particular, such as Richard Parkes Bonington and William Turner, characterised the image of the lagoon city in the 19th century, the century after Canaletto and Bellotto. Although Nerly's meticulous attention to detail is reminiscent of Canaletto's vedute, his atmospheric depiction of a picturesque, idealised Venice predominates. Everyday scenes and figures of contemporary life are seldom found in Nerly's views of Venice, but quite frequently in his drawings, watercolours and preparatory studies.
Nerly, who was born Christian Friedrich Nehrlich in Erfurt, arrived in the lagoon city on his return from a stay of several years in Rome. He had moved to Rome at the age of 21 and actually wanted to return to Germany in 1835. After a longer stay in Milan, he finally came to Venice for a visit in 1837 - and stayed! He moved into the rooms where his Swiss painter colleague Lépold Robert, who had fallen in love with Princess Charlotte Bonaparte, had shot himself two years earlier. Nerly, on the other hand, married the adopted daughter of a Venetian nobleman, which brought him into Venetian society, and he never left the lagoon city, with the exception of short trips, until the end of his life in 1878.