Capriccio: Ruins of an Arch and Farmhouses by a Lagoon

The picture is small, about half a metre wide. A ruined arch stands near a few farmhouses on the edge of a lagoon. The museum describes capricci like this one as free combinations of real and imaginary elements, arranged like a stage set, so the place need not exist anywhere. Guardi laid the paint on very thinly, and the museum compares its transparency to watercolour. Each figure takes only a few quick strokes and reads as a small splash of colour against the ruins.