A Canal in Venice

Rico based this view on a sketch that he made from a bridge along the Rio della Panada during a trip to Venice in 1879. The architecture of the Palazzo Soranzo-Van Axel is enlivened by the small boys playing along the canal, who are wittily echoed by the sculptures of dancing putti on the garden wall. Rico’s interest in light and atmosphere is evident in his depiction of the colored shadows on the buildings and the reflections in the water. He was born and trained in Spain and studied in Paris, but found a signature subject in the Venetian cityscape.