Capriccio of a Port Scene 

Giuseppe Bernardino Bison created this ink wash drawing, "Capriccio of a Port Scene," sometime in the late 18th to early 19th century. Bison, living in a time of shifting political power in Europe, offers us not a realistic depiction of a port, but rather an imagined, theatrical space. Looking at the scene, you might consider how maritime settings often served as a backdrop for the drama of trade and cultural exchange – but also of conflict. In Bison's lifetime, Venice, where he worked, transitioned from an independent republic to being under Austrian, then French, and finally Austrian control again. Ask yourself, how does the artist use the 'capriccio,' or fantasy, genre to reflect on Venice's changing identity? Are the figures in this scene active participants in a bustling port, or are they merely performers on a stage? This drawing invites us to consider the emotional and political undercurrents of a world in transition, filtered through the artist's imagination.