AFA Winter 2019

Antiques & Fine Art 93 2019 This is one of Palmer’s most haunting Venetian paintings. It portrays the old domed Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, situated on the Punta della Dogana near the end of the Grand Canal. The soft ripples of light reflected in the water and the evanescent plumes of pale violet mist illuminated by the veiled light of a full moon create a scene of near spiritual transcendence and serenity. When Palmer entered the work in the Boston Art Club’s 52nd Exhibition of Water Colors, it won Palmer the first prize of $250, and six years later, the watercolor was awarded the second-place silver medal at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo. Palmer painted other views of La Salute, and in 1902 the Albany Institute’s painting and three others depicting the venerable building at different times of day were shown together at Noé Galleries in New York. Art Amateur said of them: “The series of course calls to mind Monet’s famous series of Rouen Cathedral, but it is not every artist who can follow in Monet’s footsteps.” Walter Launt Palmer (1854–1932), La Salute by Moonlight, 1895. Watercolor, gouache, and pencil on paper mounted to composition board, 23⅞ x 17⅞ inches. Albany Institute of History & Art; Gift of Elizabeth H. Odell (2001.12).