Vue de Trieste

Description

"This painting is the only known view of Trieste by Giuseppe Canella and it is one of the finest views of the city from the early 19th century, and as such it is an important historical record. In the foreground, on a rise overlooking the city, travellers and peasants make their way along a dirt road and these figures belong to a type often introduced into the Canella’s works. The tall tree in the right near-ground serves a scenographic function, framing the composition in manner reminiscent of the baroque capriccio tradition, however the plants and rocks are rendered with all the naturalistic precision typical of nineteenth century painting."