Lot 115: Feeding pigeons before Santa Maria della Salute

Ettore De Maria Bergler (Italian, 1850-1938)
Feeding pigeons before Santa Maria della Salute
signed and dated 'E. de Maria. 79' (lower left)
oil on canvas, unframed
25½ x 31½ in. (64.7 x 80 cm.)

Born in Naples, Ettore De Maria Bergler studied in Palermo under Francesco Lojacono and there he was responsible for decorating the Villa Igea and the Teatro Massimo, in particular the royal box. Bergler was a prolific painter of portraits and landscapes, exhibiting in Milan, Rome and Venice. The present work depicts the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, which was commissioned by the Venetian Senate in 1630 as an offering following a wave of the plague that struck Venice in 1629. A major event that still takes place today on 21 November is the feast of the Madonna della Salute, where the city's officials parade from San Marco to the Salute to give thanks for deliverance from the plague.