Venice in the seventeen hundreds
Venetian Painting
Venice in its last century as a republic, painted for the travellers who came to see it and the families who lived there. Canaletto's Piazza San Marco, the Rialto and the Salute across the water from Guardi's workshop, masked gamblers at the Ridotto, Longhi's small rooms where a letter arrives or a visitor calls, and Tiepolo's sketches for ceilings full of gods and cloud. Clear light, pale stone and a sky over everything.
As a puzzle
The city builds itself and the sky takes patience. Windows, columns, awnings and gondolas give nearly every piece of a view something to place, and then comes a wide pale sky that you sort by the faintest change of tone. Longhi's rooms are darker and closer, and Tiepolo's clouds are soft the whole way through. Most come out wider than they are tall.
A good size here: 60–250 pieces.
Painters here: Francesco Guardi
Subjects here: Towns and CitiesInteriorsMyths and LegendsSacred Art
24 pictures, pick one to build
Piazza San Marco Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal), late 1720s 
The Antechamber of the Sala del Maggior Consiglio Francesco Guardi, ca. 1765–68 
Allegory of the Planets and Continents Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1752 
The Temptation Pietro Longhi (Pietro Falca), 1746 
The Baptism of Christ Sebastiano Ricci, ca. 1713–14 
The Ridotto Pubblico at Palazzo Dandolo Francesco Guardi, ca. 1765–68 
The Letter Pietro Longhi (Pietro Falca), 1746 
Bacchus and Ariadne Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini, 1720s 
A Lock, a Column, and a Church beside a Lagoon Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) 
Venice: The Dogana and Santa Maria della Salute Workshop of Francesco Guardi 
The Apotheosis of the Spanish Monarchy Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1760s 
The Visit Pietro Longhi (Pietro Falca), 1746 
Venice: The Rialto Workshop of Francesco Guardi 
Campo Santa Maria Zobenigo, Venice Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal), 1730s 
Pirna: The Obertor from the South Bernardo Bellotto, mid-1750s 
A Dance in the Country Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, ca. 1755 
Fantastic Landscape Francesco Guardi, ca. 1765 
Piazza San Marco Francesco Guardi, late 1760s 
Venice from the Bacino di San Marco Francesco Guardi, ca. 1765–75 
The Grand Canal above the Rialto Francesco Guardi, late 1760s 
Saint Thecla Praying for the Plague-Stricken Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1758–59 
The Chariot of Aurora Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1760s 
Warwick Castle Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal), 1748 
Campo Sant'Angelo, Venice Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal), 1730s