Venice

Artist Maurice Brazil Prendergast (American, 1859–1924)

Dateabout 1911

Mediumwatercolor over graphite on moderately thick, slightly textured cream wove paper

Dimensionssheet: 38.5 × 55.7 cm (15 3/16 × 21 15/16 in.)

ClassificationsWatercolors

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Terms

Object number1941.37

Label TextBorn in St. John’s, Canada, Prendergast moved to Boston as a child, where he worked as an apprentice to a commercial artist. His aptitude for watercolor and monotype defined his career. Prendergast would “push” his watercolor, creating dynamic patterns by placing individual blocks of color side-by-side. The white of the paper appears throughout, indicating patches of light and differentiating the figures. Prendergast traveled to Venice in 1898 and 1911. Both trips generated watercolors with vibrance and his signature open mark-making. During the second trip, he unexpectedly required prostate surgery resulting in an extended convalescence. Prendergast sketched and painted Venice from his hospital room with a view of the Ponte Calcina, a bridge on the Fondamenta delle Zattere.ProvenanceCharles Prendergast; Lizzie P. Bliss; (William MacBeth, Inc, New York);

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