Canal in Venice, San Trovaso Quarter

Robert Frederick Blum, born Cincinnati, OH 1857-died New York City 1903 · ca. 1885

In repeated visits to Venice in the 1880s, Blum became one of the most careful American observers of its architecture, inhabitants, customs, and colors. This picture combines all of these elements for a view of a quiet canal in the southern Dorsoduro neighborhood. In the center, a solitary boatman propels his sandolo, a traditional Venetian watercraft akin to a gondola, but smaller, shallower, and less ornate in decoration. Sandoli were easier to navigate than gondolas, and some visiting artists, including women, rented their own for exploring Venice's labyrinth of canals.