A lady seen from behind

A woman wearing a long black dress and headscarf seen from behind. This work is part of an album of fifty-three sketches by Carlevarijs which includes figures and objects he appears to have painted in the open air in preparation for insertion into formal compositionsCarlevarijs, (1663-1730) was an Italian painter, engraver and architect particularly known for his views of Venice. Although he was more than simply a view painter, much of his work was certainly in the genre later made popular by Canaletto and Francesco Guardi. This study is one of Carlevarijs’ studies known as macchiette, the quick sketches he made with daubs of colour to indicate animated Venetian figures. Carlevarijs first drew the figures on paper, copying them from people he saw in the streets and then transformed them into lively oil sketches, such as this one, which represent a crucial part of his artistic process.