Giuseppe Borsato (Venice 1771-1849 Vienna)
The entrance of Napoleon into Venice
oil on canvas
23 3/4 x 31 1/2in (60.4 x 80cm)
Footnotes:
Napoleon Bonaparte arrived in Venice in 1807 when, for a brief period, the city was under French rule. In 1814 it was ceded back to Austria. He arrived from Fusina and the present work shows his progress up the Grand Canal where he was met with a triumphal arch built between the churches of San Simeone and the Scalzi. An ink drawing of the event by Borsato is in the collection of the Museo del Risorgimento, Venice.

Provenance
J. Kugel Antiquaire, Paris, November 1984.

The canvas has been glue lined. There is craquelure evident throughout. There is a 1/4in loss of paint with an uneven surface and somewhat unstable along the edge upper right of the composition. The varnish has yellowed and the surface is dirty. There are four visible vertical lines of discoloration in the sky which are visible with the naked eye and in the illustration. Under UV lamp; scattered retouching in areas of the sky and water There are approx. 5 larger areas of retouch (the largest being approx. 2 in. diam.) in the upper right sky. Scattered minor areas of retouch in the foreground and to the doorway of the arch.