Francesco Guardi occupies a prime position among 18th century Venetian painters. The preferred motifs of his richly adorned paintings are the vast squares, impressive buildings, canals and the splendid festivities in the city on the lagoons. The latter did not only depict the actual festivities, but also regattas, banquets and receptions. In addition to his oil paintings, a large amount of sketches and preliminary studies as well as feather drawings with similar subjects are still in existence today. What makes the works by Francesco Guardi so extremely charming is their great love for the detail, as well as the remarkably exact and narrative way of depiction.
Francesco Guardi, born in Venice in 1712, was raised in artistic surroundings, as his father, Domenico Guardi (1678-1716), and his brother Gianantonio (1699-1760) were also painters. Francesco Guardi discovered his artistic interest for his hometown Venice from an early point on, and it is particularly the splendid city views and depictions of festivities that dominated his repertoire up until his death in 1793 and made him one of the leading representatives of this genre. Thus Francesco Guardi and his illustrations can be mentioned in one breath with renowned artist colleagues such as Giovanni Antonio Canal, called Canaletto (1697-1768), Gabriel Bella (1730-1799) or Bernardo Bellotto (1722-1780).