Prints, Drawings, and Photographs The Bucintoro on Ascension Day 1735 Antonio Visentini, Italian, 1688 - 1782. After a painting by Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal), Italian (active Venice, Rome, and England), 1697 - 1768. Etching Currently not on view 1985-52-34348 |
The Muriel and Philip Berman Gift, acquired from the John F. Lewis Collection given to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1933 by Mrs. John F. Lewis, with funds contributed by Muriel and Philip Berman, gifts (by exchange) of Lisa Norris Elkins, Bryant W. Langston, Samuel S. White 3rd and Vera White, with additional funds contributed by John Howard McFadden, Jr., Thomas Skelton Harrison, and the Philip H. and A.S.W. Rosenbach FoundationLabelThe Bucintoro-the large, elaborate ship directly in front of the Doge's Palace in this print-was the state galley used to carry the Doge during the annual Marriage of the Sea Ceremony, which celebrated Venice's maritime power. This ritual took place on Ascension Day, the feast day honoring Christ's ascension into heaven. Every year, the Doge would travel out to the Adriatic Sea on the Bucintoro to perform a ceremony, during which he (acting as the groom) would throw a gold ring into the water (viewed as the bride). |
