Street scene in Venice 

Tina Blau painted this Venetian street scene with oil on wood in the late nineteenth century, capturing a moment in the life of the famous Italian city. It’s not the grand canal or the Doge’s palace we see here, but a narrow back street, enclosed by tall buildings. Blau was an Austrian artist at a time when it was still difficult for women to pursue art professionally. The Venice she depicts is not a tourist’s Venice, but a place of ordinary lives. The close, dark view down the street emphasizes the density of the city, the way people lived on top of one another. Look at the washing strung between the buildings. What does it tell us about domestic life? And what about the figures, caught in shadow, going about their daily business? To understand Blau’s work, we might look at the history of women artists in the Austrian Empire, or at the changing social conditions in Venice. The historian uses such resources to interpret art as a product of its time, shaped by social forces.