‘The Waterfront, Venice’ by William Wyld R.I. (1806-1889).

The painting – which depicts a panoramic view of the Palazzo Ducale, the campanile of St. Mark’s, the Punta della Dogana and Santa Maria della Salute in the Italian city of Venice – is signed by the artist and presented in a gold leaf frame handmade by Paul Mitchell Ltd, one of the UK’s finest period frame makers.

Although born in London, William Wyld lived in France from 1827 where he became a pupil of François Louis Francia (1772–1839) alongside Richard Parkes Bonnington (1802-1828), before travelling to Italy with the great French painter of military subjects and Orientalism Horace Vernet (1789-1863), who was to become his greatest early supporter.

Returning to Paris in 1831, Wyld set up a studio in the Rue Blanche and quickly achieved critical and commercial success as a painter of Venetian and Orientalist scenes characterized by superb draftsmanship and attention to detail. That same year he had the first of many paintings accepted at the Salon des Artistes Français where he would go on to exhibit almost annually over the following decades.

Wyld did not begin sending paintings for exhibition in England until the French Revolution of 1848 forced his return to England. Thereafter, he showed regularly at the Royal Academy, British Institution, Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour, Agnew’s, the Fine Art Society, and Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts.

William Wyld was awarded a gold medal at the Salon in 1839 and became a Knight of the Légion d'honneur following the Paris Exposition of 1855 where his works were shown alongside those of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867), Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863), John Everett Millais (1829-1896), and William Holman Hunt (1827-1910). Amongst William Wyld’s many important patrons were Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and the paintings commissioned by them from Wyld are held today in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle.

Academy Fine Paintings only offers artwork for sale in the finest condition it can be for its age, having been professionally cleaned, conserved, and re-varnished. Clients should also note that tracked and signed for international shipping is complimentary.

Dimensions: (framed) 111cm x 163cm (43¾” x 64¼”)

Dimensions: (canvas only) 96cm x 148cm (37¾” x 58¼”)

Medium: Oil on canvas.

Provenance: Private UK collection.

Presentation: Fine gold leaf frame by Paul Mitchell.

Condition: Very good. Professionally cleaned, restored, and re-varnished. Ready to hang.