James Holland

James Holland was one of many British painters who traveled throughout Europe to study the diversity of architecture in its capital cities. The variety among Venice’s churches and palaces, ranging from Gothic to Baroque, made them a frequent subject for him, both in view paintings and in more elaborate costumed historical scenes. This study drawing shows the twin columns of the Piazzetta of San Marco, with the detailed façade of the Library behind and the white domes of the Church of Santa Maria della Salute across the water in the distance. Holland’s thick and painterly treatment of the clouds suggests he may have seen and admired the Venetian paintings of Turner.