Venice 1895

Eugène Boudin captured Venice, in paint on canvas, a city that had long existed as a symbol of wealth, power, and cultural exchange. Boudin’s mid-19th century vision reflects the city's shifting identity. As the Venetian Republic declined, it became a site of European tourism, drawing artists and elites alike, many of whom sought to capture its beauty on canvas. Here, Boudin offers us the city with an interest in its architectural grandeur and the liveliness of its waterways. But who populates this Venice? We see glimpses of gondoliers, their labor powering the fantasy of the Venetian experience. This reminds us to consider the lives behind the scenery, the labor and lives that sustained Venice. Boudin invites us to reflect on Venice as not only a place of beauty, but as a place with a complex social fabric, one woven from the threads of labor, class, and the ever-changing currents of history.