Federico del Campo Peruvian, 1837-1923

Born in Lima, Peru, the young del Campo was lured to Italy not only by its picturesqueness but by the hope of launching a successful and lucrative career. In moving to Venice, he joined an already large community of emigré artists, among them Antoinetta Brandeis and the Spanish colony of painters who included Rafael Senet, Mariano Fortuny, and Martin Rico, all of whom found a ready international market for their views of the city. Many, del Campo included, made such big names for themselves through this genre that they painted nothing but Italian views.    

The present sweeping panorama, painted from the promenade overlooking the lagoon and encompassing the Doge's Palace, the entrance to St Mark's Square, and the Church of Santa Maria della Salute, is striking in its technical precision, lively brushwork and luminous palette. The elegance of the subject and its technique are telling of their times, reflective of sophisticated Belle Epoque taste during the 1880s and 1890s, and of the increased demand for souvenir views by a newly mobile bourgeoisie. Indeed, so much were Del Campo's views in demand, that he painted the present view several times, albeit always with minor differences.