Image: Staatsgalerie Stuttgart
The Staatsgalerie Stuttgart has begun a public conservation and research project on Michele Marieschi’s ‘View of St Mark’s Square in Venice’, placing the painting in view of visitors at the Wüstenrot Stiftung Study Atelier. The work will be examined and restored by conservators Lena Bühl and Lydia Schmidt, with the project focusing on substantial changes made to the composition during a late stage of Marieschi’s painting process.
The restoration is open to visitors on Wednesdays—September 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30, 2026—during the museum’s opening hours. Entry to the live restoration is free. Visitors can observe the conservators through a glass frontage at the study atelier, located in Hall I of the Steib Building at the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart.
Infrared and X-ray imaging will be used to investigate the alterations. According to the museum, the technical examinations may help establish a more precise understanding of the painting’s place within Marieschi’s oeuvre and clarify aspects of its date of execution. The Staatsgalerie’s restoration department describes such work as combining practical conservation with scientific investigation and documentation.
The museum, identified on its website as the largest art museum in Baden-Württemberg, employs specialists working across paper, photography, painting, sculpture and media art. Its conservation facilities include a digital X-ray system, an infrared camera and a high-resolution research microscope. The Wüstenrot Stiftung-supported study atelier makes selected restoration projects visible to the public while they are in progress.
Marieschi (1710–1744) was one of the principal view painters active in 18th-century Venice, alongside Canaletto and Francesco Guardi, according to the Staatsgalerie. His Venetian scenes often use familiar landmarks, including St Mark’s Square, but present them from unusual viewpoints. The museum notes that his compositions can resemble theatrical stage sets, creating unexpected views of the city’s celebrated sites.
The Staatsgalerie’s collection search dates ‘View of St Mark’s Square in Venice’ to around 1738/40. The painting belongs to the museum’s holdings of Italian painting before 1800 and was acquired in 1852 with the Barbini-Breganze Collection. The research findings produced during the current conservation campaign are intended to support a closer assessment of the work’s composition and chronology.
A workshop conversation with Bühl and Schmidt will take place at the Wüstenrot Stiftung Study Atelier on September 30, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. The discussion is also free of charge, giving visitors an opportunity to speak with the conservators about their examination and treatment of Marieschi’s painting.
