Riva degli Schiavoni, No. 2

Frank Duveneck, born Covington, KY 1848-died Cincinnati, OH 1919 · 1880

The Riva degli Schiavoni, pictured in several paintings and prints in this exhibition, was the de facto front porch for Venice: a wide promenade offering views across the lagoon toward the Adriatic Sea. Increased tourism spurred the conversion of many of the Riva's waterfront tenements into guest houses and elegant hotels. James Whistler, Frank Duveneck, and several of their comrades found affordable rooms here at Casa Jankowitz. From its upper rooms, they made scores of drawings, prints, and paintings. For this view looking west, Duveneck created a preliminary drawing and reversed it in his plate, so that the printed view is topographically accurate.