A Street in Venice

c. 1880–82

This narrow alleyway, with its peeling plaster walls and a burst of light at the far end, draws us into an ambiguous situation. A woman steps over the threshold of a wine cellar, looking out at us as if we have intruded on a private meeting. The man facing her seems unaware of being observed. This is one of nearly twenty paintings in which Sargent, instead of focusing on iconic views of Venice, offers a glimpse into everyday life.

Medium	oil on canvas
Dimensions	29 9/16 x 20 5/8 in. (75.1 x 52.4 cm) Frame: 36 5/16 x 15 7/16 x 2 3/8 in. (92.2 x 39.2 x 6 cm)
Object Number	1955.575
Acquisition	Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark before 1955
Status	On View

Image Caption

John Singer Sargent, A Street in Venice, c. 1880–82, oil on canvas. Clark Art Institute, 1955.575

Select Bibliography

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Tomm, Louise Langdon. Experimentation and Innovation in John Singer Sargent's A Street in Venice. Course paper, Art History 555: John Singer Sargent, Graduate Program in the History of Art, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, 2001. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Paintings on Exhibition, July 1968. Exhibition brochure. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1968. Fairbrother, Trevor J. "Sargent's Genre Paintings and the Issues of Suppression and Privacy." In American Art Around 1900: Lectures in Memory of Daniel Fraad edited by Doreen Bolger and Nicolai Cikovsky, Jr. Studies in the History of Art 37, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, Symposium Papers, 21. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1990.