01 Painting of the Canals of Venice, Hercules Brabazon Brabazon's Zattere, Venice , with footnotes. #88

Hercules Brabazon Brabazon, (1821 - 1906)
Zattere, Venice 
Gouache and watercolour 
8.75 x 10.75in.
Private collection

The Zattere was built in 1519 and first used as a landing dock for the delivery of timber used to construct ships and buildings, which gave the quay the name Zattere, Italian for raft. 

The timber gone, the Zattere today is a spacious promenade that runs along the entire southern shore of Venice's Dorsoduro District, from the Marittima and San Basilio all the way to the Punta della Dogana. The island of Giudecca lies immediately to the south and a walk along the Zattere provides excellent Chiesa del Redentore, La Giudecca, Venice. More on The Zattere

Hercules Brabazon Brabazon (born Hercules Brabazon Sharpe; 27 November 1821 – 14 May 1906) was an English artist, accomplished in Turner-manner watercolours.

Brabazon was the younger son of Hercules Sharpe. Initially raised in Paris, he moved with his family to Oaklands, an estate near Sedlescombe, East Sussex, in 1832. He attended Harrow School, the École Privat, Geneva, and Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating with a B.A. in mathematics in 1844.

His father then wanted him to study law, but instead he left England and went to Rome to study music and art His father attempted to make him return by reducing his allowance, but in 1847, upon the death of his elder brother, he gained financial independence when he inherited family estates in Connaught, the will requiring that he change his surname to Brabazon. From then on he led a life of travel, art study and painting.

In 1858 he inherited Oaklands, whose management he left to his brother-in-law while he continued to travel - mostly in Europe, but with trips to Africa and India - always returning with his watercolours. Describing himself as living "for Art and Sunshine", he viewed himself as a gentleman amateur, and did not show or try to sell his work until his mid-seventies.

With the encouragement of artist friends, particularly John Singer Sargent, he began to exhibit, first at the New English Art Club, followed by successful one-man exhibitions at the Goupil Gallery in Bond Street. He died at Sedlescombe in 1906, and is buried there More on Hercules Brabazon Brabazon





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02 Paintings of the Canals of Venice by John Bratby, with footnotes. #87

John Bratby R.A. (British, 1928-1992)
Lazy Back Canal and Arch and Gondola in Venice 
Oil on canvas
91.5 x 121.5cm (36 x 47 13/16in)
Private collection

John Randall Bratby, (born July 19, 1928, Wimbledon, Surrey.—died July 20, 1992, Hastings, East Sussex), was a British painter who rose to prominence in the 1950s as a member of the Kitchen Sink School, a group of British social-realist artists who paralleled the literary Angry Young Men of the decade.

Although he was accepted at the Slade School of Fine Art, Bratby attended the Royal College of Art (1951–54). His first solo exhibition, mounted at the Beaux Arts Gallery in London (1954), gained him instant popularity. For many years after his artwork appeared in the motion picture The Horse’s Mouth (1958), he was identified in the popular imagination with the film’s protagonist, a bohemian artist. Bratby was particularly known for the feverish speed at which he worked and for the thick texture of his vividly coloured, Expressionistic paintings, into which he often incorporated everyday objects. His productivity did not decline with his popularity in the 1960s, as he continued to create thousands of sketches and paintings, including hundreds of portraits. He wrote several autobiographical novels, notably Breakdown (1960), and served as editor in chief of Art Quarterly from 1987. More on John Randall Bratby

John Bratby R.A. (British, 1928-1992)
Gondola, Venice 
Oil on canvas
114 x 89cm (44 7/8 x 35 1/16in)
Private collection



Please visit my other blogs: Art CollectorMythologyMarine ArtPortrait of a Lady, The OrientalistArt of the Nude and The Canals of VeniceMiddle East Artists365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

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Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.

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01 Work of the Canals of Venice, Martín Rico y Ortega's Gondolier in a Venetian Canal, with footnotes. #125

Martín Rico y Ortega, Spanish, 1833 - 1908 Gondolier in a Venetian Canal Oil on canvas 20 by 16⅛ in.; 50.8 by 41 cm Private collectio...