Venice (Venezia)

Research Status: Moderate Last Updated: 2026-02-10 Diary Coverage: Italian travels, multiple references

Overview

Venice, the floating city of canals and palaces, was among the Italian cities Marie Bashkirtseff visited during her European travels. Built on 118 small islands in the Adriatic Sea, Venice was in the 1870s both a living museum of artistic achievement and a city in gentle decline, having lost its political independence to the Kingdom of Italy in 1866. For Marie and her contemporaries, Venice represented the romance of the past and the supreme achievement of Venetian painting (Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese).

Historical Context (1870s)

Recent History

• 1866: Venice was ceded by Austria to Italy following the Austro-Prussian War
• 1870s: The city was adjusting to its role within unified Italy
• Economic decline: The loss of political autonomy continued a long economic decline
• Tourism: Venice was increasingly dependent on cultural tourism from wealthy Europeans

The Art City

Venice's artistic treasures drew visitors from across Europe:

• Accademia Gallery: Major collection of Venetian painting
• Scuola Grande di San Rocco: Tintoretto's magnificent cycle
• Doge's Palace: Political and artistic heart of the former republic
• San Marco Basilica: Byzantine splendor and golden mosaics
• Countless churches: Each containing important works of art

Social and Cultural Life

Venice in the 1870s offered:

• The Grand Canal: The great waterway lined with palaces
• Piazza San Marco: The social center of the city
• Teatro La Fenice: One of Italy's most famous opera houses
• Murano: Glass-making island
• The Lido: Beach resort area, increasingly fashionable

Significance for Marie

Artistic Education

Venice's painting was essential for any artist's education:

• The Venetian colorists (Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese) represented a tradition of painting that emphasized color and light
• Marie, who valued naturalism, would have found the Venetian approach to color and flesh both impressive and instructive
• The contrast with Florentine and Roman art (which emphasized drawing and form) was a classic artistic debate

Romantic City

Venice's unique atmosphere of beauty and melancholy resonated with Marie's sensibility:

• The canals, gondolas, and palaces created an incomparably romantic setting
• The city's decline added a note of poignancy
• Venice was a favorite subject for writers and painters Marie admired

Key Sites

• Piazza San Marco: Heart of the city
• Basilica di San Marco: Byzantine mosaics and the Pala d'Oro
• Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace): Tintoretto's Paradise
• Gallerie dell'Accademia: Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese
• Santa Maria della Salute: Baroque church on the Grand Canal
• Rialto Bridge: The iconic market bridge
• The Grand Canal: Lined with Gothic and Renaissance palaces

Related Entries

• #Florence - Fellow Italian art city
• #Rome - Capital and artistic rival
• #Naples - Southern Italian destination
• #Paris - Marie's artistic home base