Francesco Guardi

Francesco Guardi (1712–1793) was an esteemed Italian painter of the Venetian School, celebrated alongside Canaletto as one of the definitive masters of Venetian view painting (veduta). However, while his contemporaries focused on rigid, photographic accuracy, Guardi pioneered a more atmospheric, expressive style characterized by loose, fluid brushwork and dynamic play of light—a technique that later heavily influenced the Impressionists.