Organized by Musei Civici Veneziani and the Tate Britain, the exhibition is curated by Ian Warrell, Collections Curator at the Tate, and produced in collaboration with Venezia Musei.

This exhibition brings together around 120 works (oil paintings, watercolours, as well as prints, maps and Turner`s Venice sketchbooks) that chart the intense relation between the great English artist and Venice, which he visited at various times between 1819 and 1840.

The works dedicated to Venice exemplify especially important aspects of Turner`s art, in particular, his handling of light. Some of them are being exhibited to the public for the first time and they offer the chance to chart the development of the artist`s own personal poetics.

The exhibition also provides an opportunity to compare Turner`s work with that of artists who were important points of reference for him, for example, Canaletto, Marlow, Caffi ad Doyle.

This is the first major exhibition devoted to Turner`s trips to Venice. It spans the twenty years between Turner`s first visit to Venice in 1819, when he was already forty-four, and his last in 1840.

Even among Venice`s many distinguished artistic visitors, Turner remains one of the few to find a true echo of his own sensibility in the unique qualities of this sublime floating city.

His career was remarkable for its successes and its innovations, yet his images of Venice we re quickly recognized by their first viewer as some of his most magical, luminous works.

The heart of the exhibition is taken up by a tour of the city through Turner`s own eyes, with his paintings and his radiant watercolours acting as a guide to the visitor.
From the Piazza San Marco, the viewer is escorted along the Grand Canal and across the Bacino. There is also a small group of exquisite studies of the city made from Turner`s hotel in which he captured the stunning nocturnal and sunset effects colouring the rooftops.

The exhibition is at the CORRER MUSEUM, Venice
04 September 2004 - 23 January 2005
Opening times: 10am-7pm daily, last entrance at 6pm.
Entrance fee: 9 euros, 6.50 euros for concessions.