John Piper, C.H. (1903-1992)

John Piper made Venice-themed suites of work on three occasions between 1959 and the early 1970s. The first was for an exhibition at Arthur Jeffress' London gallery (Paintings and Watercolours of Venice by John Piper, May - June 1960); the second was a set of lithographic illustrations for an edition of Adrian Stokes' book Venice (standard edition published in 1965 by Gerald Duckworth & Co); the third, and best known, was in preparation for scenery backdrops used in Benjamin Britten's opera Death in Venice (first performed in 1973). John Piper was visually and intellectually inspired by the Victorian critic and artist John Ruskin and Ruskin's near-contemporary J.M.W. Turner, both of whom are strongly associated with Venice. The use of very high-keyed colours seen in the present work (which appears to date from the mid-1970s or later) may be a 'homage' to Turner's more intense watercolour sketches of Venetian subjects. The present work shows the ranges of buildings on either side of the opening of the Grand Canal, although not taken from the same spot (the upper view being from the island of San Giorgio; and the lower view from the Molo San Marco).

We are very grateful to Rev. Dr Stephen Laird FSA for preparing this catalogue entry.