|
This canvas is one of the 12 Venetian Festivities that Guardi painted, based on engravings made between 1763 and 1766 by Giovanni Battista Brustolon, modelled on original drawings by Canaletto. They begin with the ceremonies organised in May 1763 marking the election and enthronement of Doge Alvise IV Mocenigo, who was to reign over Venice for 15 years. This painting illustrates the first of the solemnities in the chronological order of events.
The newly-elected Doge is led to the basilica where he swears his oath of office before being presented to his fellow-citizens and enthroned. Flanked by two electors, he is addressing the people from the raised pulpit to the right of the choir. On his head he wears a square barretta and not the ducal hat, as he has not yet been crowned. The rejoicing crowd has invaded the basilica, is pressing into the nave and aisles, has climbed onto the bases of the columns and is even occupying the upper galleries. It is acclaiming its future sovereign with such exuberance that arsenal workers, armed with long red staves, have to clear a pathway for the Doge. The latter has still to show himself on the sella gestatoria or pozzetto in front of the choir screen, and then to be carried on the arsenal workers' shoulders towards St Mark's Square.
In this perfectly symmetrical composition, in which he has applied the rules of a broad, dilated central perspective, Guardi presents a multitude of excited figures with an almost carnival-like flavour. The bustling little silhouettes are seized with astounding virtuosity with a few nervous brush strokes and quick, fragmented touches of bright colours. This milling throng is in contrast to the imposing solemnity of the building, the vast interior of which bathes in a warm, golden atmosphere. The play of light and shadow imparts a glitter to the gold of the mosaics and shows off the mattness of the marbles. The precise chromatic range, the light, elegant touch, and the brilliant, dynamic arrangement, full of imagination, which distinguish this work, allow us to situate it around 1775/77. This series, the other parts of which are preserved at the Louvre in Paris (10) and the Museum of Grenoble (1), is one of the most remarkable creations of 18th century Venetian painting.
|
