Born in Palmanova in Friuli in 1762, Giuseppe Bernardino Bison occupies a special place among the painters who prolonged the vedutist tradition at the turn of the 18th century. An eclectic and versatile artist, he also left behind an important oeuvre as a painter and decorator, following in the prestigious footsteps of Tiepolo, Guardi, Ricci, Zaïs and Diziani. Numerous palaces and villas in Ferrara, Padua, Treviso, Udine, Trieste and the surrounding areas bear witness to his ability as a fresco artist. Essentially dedicating himself to topographical veduta in his easel paintings, he nevertheless dealt with a wide variety of subjects, including fantasy. Other than these two aspects of his art, he produced an impressive number of graphic works.

In 1831, he settled in Milan and from 1834 to 1838, he made a series of journeys which took him successively to Florence, Rome, Naples and Paestum, thus broadening his vedutist repertoire.

As regards his protean body of work, we should emphasise – besides the variety of subjects – the extreme quality of his pictorial production, making him one of the most worthy epigones of the Venetian vedutist tradition in the 18th century.