Artwork Information

  • Title:

    Venice

  • Artist:

    Vondrous, Jan C.

  • Artist Bio:

    Czech, 1884–1974

  • Date:

    1914–16

  • Medium:

    Etching

  • Dimensions:

    9 x 12 3/8 inches

  • Credit Line:

    Wichita Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from the Jason Elder Family, C.A. Seward Memorial Collection

  • Object Number:

    2019.39

  • Display:

    Not Currently on Display


About the Artwork

Jan C. Vondrous

American (born in the Czech Republic), 1884–1974

Venice, 1914–16

Etching

Wichita Art Museum, Museum purchase, C.A. Seward Memorial Collection

2019.39

Venice’s Saint Mark’s Basilica, like Paris’ Notre-Dame Cathedral, is one of the most visited monuments in the world. In Venice, artist Jan Vondrous sketchily renders the iconic church and square, vividly capturing the wind-swept, pigeon-filled experience of visiting the site. Printmakers of the period loved depicting the church. For instance, in a print nearby, Arthur Heintzelman depicts the square from a different vantage point. In Heintzelman’s work, the viewer is positioned on the church’s central balcony looking out on the square from behind the famous bronze horse sculptures.

Like Notre-Dame de Paris, Venice’s St. Mark’s experienced a tumultuous 2019. Last November, the city suffered the second-worst flood in its history. Local officials called the disaster—in which up to three feet of water flooded the 900-year-old church and surrounding area—“apocalyptic.” While the floodwaters receded relatively quickly, experts remain concerned about the salt left they behind, which corrodes marble, brick, and other materials.