The guy who painted this picture, Venetian born Ippolito Caffi (1809-1866) is something of a mystery. I only became aware of him through an image of one of his works appearing in a catalogue of a Turner exhibition. I can find nothing of him at the State Library of Victoria which is very unusual. He specialized in scenes of night festivals in his native city as well as unusual lighting effects and weathers. His understanding of light is almost hypnotic which is why I admire him.