Francesco Guardi, 'An Architectural Caprice', probably 1770s

Although capricci views like this one show scenes that are essentially imaginary, Guardi often used details of real buildings in his. The staircase here is based on the one in the courtyard of the Doge’s Palace in Venice, though Guardi has left out some statues. He also reduced the size of the square, creating a more intimate space.

A rich golden light coming from a summer sky falls on the buildings and people. A sunlit courtyard lies beyond the dark shadows of the arcade, and the illuminated figures crossing it catch our attention. More figures, suggested by dabs of paint, lead us up the stairs; high above, two people drape a blue cloth over the pale stone. Guardi has shown only part of the right-hand arch, placed at an unusual angle to the dark row of arches on the right and those across the square, so that we feel that the scene continues beyond the picture. The buildings are made up of continuous sweeps of golden brown tones, their architectural details merely hinted at in dark, fractured and broken lines. Here, Guardi has used an archway to guide us into the scene, a device also seen in his An Architectural Caprice and Canaletto’s Venice: Piazza San Marco.

Guardi’s paintings of the 1770s were popular with tourists as they evoked the atmosphere of Venice. These ‘picture postcard’ views – Guardi’s capricci scenes are often no bigger than an A4 piece of paper – were affordable souvenirs and could be easily transported by travellers during their Grand Tour of Europe. This is one of 192 paintings given to the National Gallery in 1910 as part of the Salting Bequest. It included other imaginary scenes, like An Architectural Caprice with a Palladian Style Building, as well as views of Venice and its surroundings, such as Venice: Piazza San Marco and View of the Venetian Lagoon with the Tower of Malghera.