01 Painting of the Canals of Venice by the artists of their time, with foot notes. #47

Noel Georges Bouvard, (French, 1912–1975)

The Doge's Palace and the columns of St. Theodore and the Lion of Venice

Oil on canvas

50 x 65 cm. (19.7 x 25.6 in.)

Private collection

Theodore and the Lion refers to the two columns outside the Palazzo Ducale, named after two patron saints of Venice.

The Column of the Lion and the Column of St. Theodore of Amasea, now located in Piazzetta San Marco, are examples of works coming from the East. They come out of the Venetian participation in the Crusades, concluding in the Sack of Constantinople in 1204. While their origins are uncertain, they represent the city as major landmarks in the region of the Doge’s Palace. The columns themselves seem to come from Constantinople. The Lion of Venice is an ancient bronze winged lion sculpture in the Piazza San Marco. It came to symbolize the city — as well as one of its patron saints, St Mark — after its arrival there in the 12th century. The sculpture surmounts one of two large granite columns in the Square. It has had a very long and obscure history, probably starting its existence as a winged lion-griffin statue on a monument to the god Sandon at Tarsus around 300 BC. At some point came to represent the “Lion of Saint Mark”, traditional symbol of Saint Mark the evangelist. The figure standing on the western column is St. Theodore of Amasea, patron of the city before St Mark, who holds a spear and stands on a crocodile (to represent the dragon which he was said to have slain). It is also made up of separate pieces of antique statues, including a crocodile, a torso and a head. The statue on the column is a copy with the original being kept in the Doge's Palace. More on The Columns of the Lion and St. Theodore

Bouvard Noel George, 1912-1972, was born on the 25 December, 1912 in Paris, the son of Eloi Noel Beraud, better known as Marc Aldine or Antoine Bouvard. He was a recognised artist of architectural and landscape paintings, however, like his father he became best known for his works of Venetian canals. After studying at Ecole des Beaux Artists he became very influenced by his father and they worked together for many years from 1935 to 1950. Like his father, he often went to Venice to prepare his sketches and drafts from which he was able to create the flowing landscapes and harmonious arrangements, which made his paintings highly sought after in France as well as the UK. Bouvard places the scene carefully on the canvas with surrounding buildings reflecting in the water, and portrays the heat of the sun in its reflection against the stone surfaces. More on Bouvard Noel George

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