Emilio Sánchez Perrier

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This painting is in beautiful condition. The canvas has an old glue lining. The paint layer is clean and varnished. All of the details and touches in the painting are beautifully preserved. Under ultraviolet light a few faint retouches are visible in the upper left corner and in the center of the sky, and while there may be a few other small dots elsewhere, they are not identifiable either with the naked eye or under ultraviolet light. The condition is very good.
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The present work was completed during Sanchez-Perrier's 1884-85 stay in Venice.  As correspondence with his family describes, the period was a particularly prolific one for the artist, who was greatly inspired by the legendary "floating city".  As did many late nineteenth century painters of Venice, Sanchez-Perrier chooses the entrance to the Grand Canal as the setting for the present work.  In this painting, however, he refines the usual perspective, placing the viewer slightly to the east of the Riva degli Schiavoni in the vicinity of the Piazza San Marco.  From this vantage point, the famous Santa Maria della Salute is seen from its back, tucked among a row of palazzos, while a group of more humble abodes and utilitarian gondolas rest along the weathered piers of the foreground.

Sanchez-Perrier contrasts the depths of the aqua canal waters and the varying  reflections on its surface-from the pale blue sky to the sun-faded earth tones of the surrounding buildings.  Pigment is applied with short brush strokes in a technique similar to such fellow pre-Impressionist Spanish painters of Venice as Martín Rico y Otega, Antonio Reyna Manescau, José Villegas and Rafael Senet. Yet, among these artists, Sanchez-Perrier stands out for his remarkably fine and delicate handling of paint, particularly evidenced in the construction of his trees, as seen in the present work where spindly branches rise above the verdant bushes that spill over a hidden garden wall. 

The visual splendour, refined technique and timelessness of At the Mouth of the Grand Canal place it among the most accomplished of the artist's compositions and is of the caliber of other examples in his mature oeuvre like Triana  (Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla).