Cooke made a particular study of the variety of different vessels to be found on the waterways of the city, displaying an understanding of their structure which is not necessarily evident in the work of other artists who specialised in Venetian subjects.

Following the early death of his wife in 1844, Cooke adopted a peripatetic lifestyle, travelling extensively in Britain and Ireland as well as making regular visits to Europe. Whilst travelling, Cooke filled scores of sketchbooks with meticulous pencil drawings of seascapes, landscapes, architecture and local scenes, building up a stock of some 20,000 sheets over the course of his career. Cooke sketched and painted continuously when staying in Venice, and his work there certainly bore fruit, as the city provided the subject for virtually the rest of his exhibiting career, to the point that he was nicknamed 'Venetian Cooke' or 'Il Lagunetto'.