There are three other versions of the present painting, all autograph works by Marieschi. One is at the Fitzwilliam Museum (inv. 190, my book, 1995, no. v. 38.a). The second, the whereabouts of which are unknown is published in my same book (V. 38.b). A third one, hitherto unpublished was with the Hallsborough Gallery London in 1972 (60.5 x 95.5 cm) from the collection of Sir Walter Bromley- Davenport.

It is with the last of these three that the present picture is the most closely related, many details of the figures being comparable. On the other hand the first two have figures very much alike.

In this picture, Marieschi has described with his typical impastos, the long series of palaces that stretch after palazzo Michiel, nicknamed ‘alle colonne’ for the peculiar open atrium of its ground floor. Marieschi has layered beige, greyish, pink and tobacco touches of paint with clever and generous brush strokes that are his hallmark. The subtle harmony of these layers reflects with refined sensibility the changing shades of venetian light upon the stones of the palazzi.

The figures are by Marieschi’s hand, though the gentleman with a red coat and the one in the green jacket in the foreground, remind one of certain drawings by Anton Maria Zanetti, who is known for drawing Marieschi’s caricature.

This picture should be dated to the 1730’s, Marieschi having already reached the maturity of his short lived career.