Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell

Patrick J. Ford Esq. Berwick, 1910;
Jonathan Clark Ltd., London;
Private Collection

 

Edinburgh, Royal Scottish Academy, Festival Exhibition: Peploe, Cadell, Hunter, 1949

Tom Hewlett, Cadell: A Scottish Colourist, The Portland Gallery, 1988, p. 29, pl. 17

The canvas is original. There are small pin hole to all corners. On extremely close inspection there are some pin-sized holes in the centre of the upper left quadrant. Otherwise in good original condition, clean and ready to hang. Ultraviolet light reveals a very small fleck of retouching in the upper right corner corresponding to the pin hole. Held in a decorative gold painted frame in fair condition.
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In 1910 Cadell was in Venice, an experience which freed his technique in the same way that Paris and Royan had for Peploe and Fergusson. Almost overnight Cadell's work responded to the light and freedom of Italy and it is at this moment in his career that he truly became a Colourist. The paintings he made in Venice range from interior views of churches to the brilliant colour of the cafes in St Mark's Square and are painted with vibrant brushstrokes to catch the flicker of sunlight on glass, marble and mosaic.  The colours red, green, white and blue dominate these plein-air paintings and all are applied in a rich creamy paint. Whilst in Venice, Cadell used his time industriously and painted both in watercolour and oils a startling series of pictures.

Interior, Santa Maria della Salute, Venice was painted during or soon after Cadell's first trip to Venice  It is one of the most ambitious paintings given the scale of the work and is a masterly composition that captures the beauty of the Salute. The vivid coloration and freedom of handling provide the essential underpinning for his later interiors. The shimmer of the light on the water and on marble, the rich Italian colouring of the buildings and costumes of the passionate Venetians he met there and the grandeur of the architecture, moved Cadell and his work changed forever.

Santa Maria della Salute was built in 1631-81 in thanksgiving for the deliverance of Venice from the plague of 1630-31. It is a beautiful octagonal church built partly of Istrian stone and partly of marmorino and was the masterpiece of Baldass Longhena. A unique building and particularly well adapted to its impressive site at the entrance to the city, it dominates the view of the Grand Canal from the Lagoon. The water from the canal is often reflected on its bright surface. The interior which Cadell portrays in the present work, has a high dome with its drum pierced by large windows, which sheds a beautiful light on the central area of the church with its circular aisle. The polychrome marble floor is extremely fine and it has an important collection of art and includes an early work by Titan of St Mark over the altar. 

Cadell's trip to Venice had been financially facilitated and encouraged by his great patron Patrick Ford who sponsored the venture, feeling the light and surroundings would be inspirational, which indeed they were. Cadell's records note the agreement unequivocably as follows 'cheque from P. J. Ford Esq: £150 to go to Venice and paint. He to choose equivalent in pictures on my return.' (Tom Hewlitt: The Life and Works of a Scottish Colourist 1883-1937, 1988, page 27) The Ford family took six works in repayment of the advance and Patrick Ford bought another four and amongst them the present work. The remaining works were exhibited in Edinburgh later in 1910 with Aitken and Dott, where only six works sold and it seemed at the time that the public of Edinburgh were not yet ready for this kind of modern work by Cadell.

Interior, Santa Maria della Salute, Venice is certainly one of his most important and beautiful paintings from the 1910 trip of which there are few in private ownership.