Two gondolas glide across a wide canal, their dark hulls and curved prows mirrored in the still, luminous water that fills the lower half of the scene. Buildings rise in pale, indistinct masses on both sides of the canal, their outlines softened by atmospheric mist and the golden light that suffuses the entire composition. Above, the sky occupies more than half the canvas, glowing with creamy yellows and pale blues near the horizon and streaked with touches of red and brown in the drifting clouds.

The brushwork is fluid and expressive, with thin washes and blurred edges that dissolve forms into shimmering reflections and radiant air. A faint blue silhouette of distant buildings appears on the horizon, anchoring the vanishing point and drawing the gaze toward the far-off shore of Fusina. The composition is balanced by the placement of gondolas and figures, leading the view along the canal and into the glowing distance.

Paint is applied with both broad sweeps and delicate touches, creating a sense of movement and atmosphere rather than precise detail. A cluster of small, indistinct figures gathers along the right edge by the water, some draped in reddish and ochre garments. On the left, faint silhouettes of people appear seated or standing in the nearest gondola, their forms loosely brushed.

The far left corner features a vertical, blocky tower, its outline softened and partially obscured by haze. Light falls most intensely in a vertical band down the center of the canal, creating a bright, reflective path on the water's surface. The upper right corner contains several loose, reddish brushstrokes suggesting drifting foliage or clouds above the cityscape. St Benedetto, Looking towards Fusina was painted by Joseph Mallord William Turner in 1843, during a period when he produced several views of Venice.

After Turner's death, the work became part of the Turner Bequest and is now in the care of Tate Britain. By this late stage in his career, Turner's style had become increasingly abstract and impressionistic, as seen in the dissolving forms and radiant light of this work.