This painting was very well received when first exhibited in 1835 at the Royal Academy of Arts. Primarily based on a sketch made during Turner’s first visit to Venice in 1819, he completed the work after his second visit in 1833. His mastery as both marine painter and watercolourist comes to the fore: the foundations of the palaces seem to dissolve into the lagoon, their solidity softened by subtle reflections that blur architecture into water. The work is less a literal transcription than a poetic transformation, where Venice’s grandeur is refracted through Turner’s eye and technique.