The French gardens in Venice 1850

Félix Ziem created this oil on canvas painting, titled 'The French Gardens in Venice', sometime in the 19th century. Ziem was one of many artists drawn to Venice, which, in this period, had become a popular tourist destination, a place of leisure and beauty. What is striking about this painting is how it presents Venice as a kind of constructed fantasy. It alludes to Venice's unique geography, but emphasizes the ways in which it has been cultivated as a destination through carefully designed gardens and picturesque views. Notice how the artist creates visual codes that evoke the image of Venice as a cultural artefact. To understand this painting, we can turn to period guidebooks and travelogues that shaped how tourists viewed Venice, but we can also consider the institutions, such as the art market, that promoted images of Venice as a site of beauty and pleasure. The meaning of this painting is thus contingent on its historical and institutional context.