Like many artists before him, he was captivated by the city of Venice and painted it on numerous occasions. He first travelled to Venice in 1895, and critics agree that his time in Italy was the determining influence on his artitic career. Yet in the views of Venice he made upon a second trip in 1912, Lévy-Dhurmer simplified his dreamy symbolism, developing more abstracted and diffused images in pastel as well as oil. Lévy-Dhurmer’s particular distinction amongst the Symbolists was his ability to reconcile exacting draughtsmanship with his own impressionist vision of the world. He explored the emotional and lyrical possibilities of landscape in works such as the one here, all notable for their sense of atmosphere. This depiction not only highlights the nocturnal drama of the lights on the canals but also gives the impression of the famous fogs that drift in off the lagoon.