Félix Ziem (1821–1911),Sunrise in front of Piazzetta, Doge’s Palace, Venice

Oil on canvas, circa 1860. 84 x 114 cm. Signed "Ziem" lower right.

A red wax seal on the reverse. Certified by the Ziem Committee.

In this light-filled composition, Félix Ziem masterfully evokes a vision of an idealized Venice. From the Canal della Grazia, he depicts the Doge’s Palace bathed in golden, iridescent light, transforming the architecture into a sun-drenched mirage. On the right, the ceremonial vessel Bucintoro glides through the lagoon—a mythical ship long since vanished, here resurrected by the artist’s brush as a poetic symbol of a dreamlike Venice, more faithful to the painter’s imagination than to historical reality.

In the foreground, gondolas drift across a shimmering lagoon, fragmented into sparkling reflections. The attention to atmospheric effects, the trembling of the water, and the transparency of the air recalls the explorations of Jongkind or Turner—masters of evanescent light and fluid skies. Ziem’s vaporous and free brushwork participates in this same lyrical pursuit.

Born in Beaune on February 26, 1821, Félix François Georges Philibert Ziem became one of the most distinctive painters of the 19th century. The son of an Armenian tailor and a Burgundian mother, he abandoned the architectural path intended for him by his father to follow his own—drawn instead to color and distant horizons.

After studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Dijon, he moved to Marseille, where a job as a draftsman on the Durance Canal project allowed him to fund his first major journey. It was in Venice that he found his spiritual home. Arriving there in the 1840s, he was captivated by the “blue and pink city” and would return many times.

La Serenissima became the beating heart of his work. He explored its canals, façades, and iridescent light, returning again and again to capture its play of reflections. When he began exhibiting in Paris from 1849 onward, his Venetian views thrilled audiences. Paintings such as View Taken from the Grand Canal in Venice and Mouth of the Grand Canal, Open Sea in the Background were met with great acclaim, establishing Ziem as the visual poet of an eternal, radiant Venice. Collectors, critics, and connoisseurs alike recognized in him a master of color and reverie.