Santa Maria Formosa, Venice

Although mostly based in Dieppe at the time, Sickert visited Venice several times between 1895 and 1904 and described it as 'the loveliest city in the world'. While in Venice, he described his working method as striving 'to work open and loose, freely, with a full brush and full colour.'

In Venice Sickert painted the church of Santa Maria Formosa at least twice. Here he has depicted it from the north west, framing his composition in such a way as to slice off the top of the cupola and omit its tower completely. Instead he painted a great deal of almost empty foreground as well as segments of buildings in the far background, including the 16th-century Palazzo Malipiero-Trevisan. He has also lit the scene in an unusual way, with the church and the main figure on the left in the shade while light floods the square between them.