Guess the Artwork
Regata sul Canal Grande - Regatta on the Grand Canal, oil on canvas by Canaletto, 1730-1739, The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, England.
The scene portrays the Carnival Regatta that was held each year on the 2nd of February on the Grand Canal in Venice. The canal is depicted lined with gondolas, including elaborately carved and gilded bissone, the fast, richly-decorated boats belonging to prominent Venetian families.
The oarsmen of two bissone in the right and left foreground wear the white and blue colours of the Pisani family, one of the richest and most powerful families in Venice. Some of the figures are wearing the bauta: a black tricorn and cloak with a white traditional mask like the larva or volto, that were only worn during carnival time. This traditional kind of masks had a shape which allowed the bearer to breathe and drink easily, so that there was no need to take it off.
The ruined temple on the left is a floating structure which holds the prize-winner’s flags. It was specially constructed each year to a different design.
