From the exhibition Whistler and Venice January 29-May 28, 2003 Whistler wrote to his mother from Venice: “The people with their gay gowns and handkerchiefs--and the many tinted buildings for them to lounge against or pose before, seem to exist especially for one's pictures and to have no other reason for being!” Here he avoids the quintessential view of the famous Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal and instead depicts the busy street, the type of scene that captured his imagination.