Rialto Bridge (Covered Bridge, Venice)

Maurice Brazil Prendergast

ca. 1911–12 · Watercolor and graphite on off-white wove paper · The American Wing

The Rialto and other bridges were favorite motifs of Prendergast during his second trip to Venice (1911–12), serving as the subject of about twenty-five watercolors. As in his painting of the Piazza di San Marco (52.126.6), here, Prendergast depicts a site that is a popular tourist destination and an essential aspect of the working city. The Rialto Bridge, the oldest of the four bridges that span Venice’s Grand Canal, contains rows of shops beneath its arcade, which leads to the bustling Rialto market in the heart of the city. The vivacious, mosaic-like patterns and free application of paint reflect the artist’s aptitude for experimentation as well as the influence of the bright Fauvist works he had probably seen in Paris a few years earlier

Artist

Maurice Brazil Prendergast

Date

ca. 1911–12

Medium

Watercolor and graphite on off-white wove paper

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

The Lesley and Emma Sheafer Collection, Bequest of Emma A. Sheafer, 1973