The competition for an equestrian monument to Victor Emmanuel II came & nbsp; banned from the city of Venice in & nbsp; 1879 and won by Ettore Ferrari the following year. L'ope ra, placed on r iva degli Schiavoni, was inaugurated by King Umberto in 1887 and the watercolor depicting one of the two allegories of the city, Venice triumphant - placed on the short side of the pendant base of the Subjugated Venice, placed on the opposite side to- is briefly pinned by the artist, who uses here an unusual and very small format. Great space is given to the reflection blue of the lagoon that recurs in the cool tone of the paving of riva degli Schiavoni, played in contrast with the black silhouette of the bronze and the silhouette of the gondola entering the painted in top right. The two souls of the artist, the grandiloquent sculptor of the glories of the Risorgimento and the intimate and discreet watercolorist, overlap in this small memory sketched from life, from one point slightly elevated view, probably from one of the luxurious hotels of Riva degli Schiavoni .

Patrizia Rosazza