Canal in Venice

Can you see the boats moored along the canal and their moonlit reflections in the water? With quick brushstrokes and a dark palette, Maurice Cullen transports us to a quiet nighttime scene in late 19th century Venice. Often noted as the first Canadian Impressionist painter, Cullen grew up in Montreal and later studied and worked in Paris. Returning to Canada in 1895, he applied his Impressionist techniques to the Quebec landscape, and began to darken his palette, showing a preference for depicting scenes at dusk. Cullen also continued to spend time in Europe, and in the summer of 1896, he traveled to Venice, Italy, where he sketched the subject matter for this work.