The Square of Santa Maria Formosa, Venice

Lawrence, Lord Haldon (London, England); before 1958, Richard E. O. Cavendish, Esq. (Holker Hall, Lancashire, England); 23 April 1958, sale at auction by Parke-Bernet (New York, NY) to Mr. and Mrs. Marc B. Rojtman (Milwaukee, WI); November 1958, gifted to the University of Wisconsin–Madison; 1967, transferred to Elvehjem Art Center [now called Chazen Museum of Art]

• Fredericksen, Burton B. and Federico Zeri. "Census of Pre-Nineteenth-Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections." Cambridge, MA: Harvard Press, 1972. pp. 120, 593

This painting depicts groups of figures wearing suits, cloaks, and colorful floor-length gowns strolling and socializing through a town square lined by tall brick buildings. At the center of the square is a decorative brick fountain with a spout of water shooting up from its center. The buildings lining the square are constructed with bricks in various shades of tan, and many feature white striped awnings attached to tall, slender arched windows. The red brick roofs sprout funnel-shaped chimneys.  On the far end of the square stands a white cathedral with a highly decorative facade featuring sculptures, columns, and arched doorways. A dark grey dome rises above the cathedral in the background. To the right of the church stands a tall bell tower with an intricate design and a pointed dark grey spire. The square sits under a bright blue, nearly cloudless sky.

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