The Piazza San Marco, Venice

Pierre Auguste Renoir

1881

Oil on canvas

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A bustling European square is depicted with a grand, ornate building dominating the background. People are scattered across the square, some walking and others gathered in groups, with pigeons scattered on the ground. A bustling European square is depicted with a grand, ornate building dominating the background. People are scattered across the square, some walking and others gathered in groups, with pigeons scattered on the ground. On his tour of Italy, Renoir made a stop in Venice in late October 1881. His Venetian canvases focus primarily on famous sites. Here, Renoir depicts the domes of the Cathedral of San Marco gleaming in the midday sun. This painting was left in a sketch-like state without any studio reworking. Executed in a typically Impressionist technique, the canvas is loosely covered with bold, hurriedly applied strokes of bright, un