Venice: View of the Marciana Library, the Campanile and the Doge’s Palace, ca. 1875

About the Work

Against the backdrop of the Doge’s Palace on the Piazza San Marco, the gondola glides across the surface of the water, seemingly without a sound. At first sight, what we have before us is a snapshot bearing close resemblance to those taken by present-day visitors to Venice in their effort to capture the special charm of the onetime maritime republic. However, closer inspection reveals that there is nothing at all spontaneous about this image. The two gondoliers merely stage the poses required to propel the vessel forwards. In fact, they are using their oars to hold the gondola in place so that the shot of it will be in focus. Over the course of his long career, Carlo Naya photographed nearly every one of Venice’s architectural landmarks—and thus advanced to become the city’s most prominent chronicler in the second half of the nineteenth century.