Gardens of the Villa Correr, near Strà 1712 - 1793

Francesco Guardi made this drawing of the Gardens of the Villa Correr, near Strà, with pen and brown wash in eighteenth-century Venice. This vista of an elite country estate offers a glimpse into the world of the Venetian aristocracy and the art that served its interests. The garden is carefully designed with classical statues and architecture to display wealth and social status. Guardi’s loose brushwork, though, hints at a tension between the desire for classical order and the natural world's inherent wildness. Consider the role of the Correr family, and similar aristocratic patrons, who shaped Venetian artistic culture. Their commissions influenced the production and reception of art in Venice. Were they self-consciously conservative in their tastes, or did they encourage artistic innovation? To fully understand this drawing, we might consult estate records, family histories, and other visual sources. These can help reveal the complex social and institutional dynamics of art in eighteenth-century Venice.