James Holland's panorama of Venice was made from a vantage point on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. The skyline of the city is dominated by the church of Santa Maria della Salute at the left and the Campanile of the Piazza San Marco at the right. The dual foci of the scene are the entrance to the Grand Canal, with the Salute as its sentinel, and the Bacino, the body of water in front of the Piazza San Marco. Other Venetian monuments are sketchily indicated - specific detail is less important in this view than the impression of the city bobbing on the water below an immense blue sky.
