Ca' Rezzonico, the Museum of 18th-Century Venice, has opened its exhibition season with a selection of ten paintings by Francesco Guardi (1712–1793) on loan from the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon. The works, dated between 1770 and 1790, include iconic Venetian views such as the Festa della Sensa in Piazza San Marco and the Regata sul Canal Grande, showcasing Guardi's distinctive loose brushwork and atmospheric perspective. The exhibition also features drawings from civic collections, including Il Gran Teatro La Fenice and two watercolored sheets depicting Le nozze del duca di Polignac.
This exhibition matters because it reunites Guardi's Venetian vedute with their native lagoon, offering a rare opportunity to see masterpieces from one of the world's most important collections of the artist's work in the very city that inspired them. Guardi's intimate, almost melancholic vision of a declining Venetian civilization contrasts with Canaletto's controlled geometry, providing fresh insight into 18th-century Venetian art and society. The show underscores the ongoing cultural dialogue between Lisbon's Gulbenkian Museum and Venice's historic institutions.