Weather clearing after rain, Venice – fruit boats going to the Rialto

Oswald Brierly was appointed Marine Painter to Queen Victoria in 1874. His visit to Venice in 1882 resulted in a series of elaborate watercolours, of which this example was described in the first catalogue of the Art Gallery of New South Wales collection, published in 1883: ‘The boats, laden with great gourds, peaches and tomatoes, are picturesque objects, and have here been studied and drawn with the greatest care, and the water, with its air-currents and many reflections, is equally successful … This picture is taken early in the afternoon, when light and shade are in the trembling balance of rain cloud and gleaming sun.’