Canaletto
Canaletto | |
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Joseph Smith | |
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Giovanni Antonio Canal (18 October 1697 – 19 April 1768),
Painter of cityscapes or
Early career
He was born in Venice as the son of the painter Bernardo Canal, hence his mononym Canaletto ("little Canal"), and Artemisia Barbieri.[5] Canaletto served an apprenticeship with his father and his brother of a theatrical scene painter. In 1718, having already taken part in designing sets for operas by Fortunato Chelleri, Giovanni Porto and Antonio Vivaldi, Canaletto travelled to Rome.[6] During his time in Rome, he worked with his father producing the scenery for two operas by the composer Alessandro Scarlatti, Tito Sempronio Greco and Turno Aricino which were performed at the Teatro Catranica during the carnival season of 1720.[7]
Canaletto was inspired by the Roman vedutista
After returning from Rome in 1719, he began painting in his topographical style.[8] His first known signed and dated work is Architectural Capriccio (1723, Milan, in a private collection).[1] Studying with the older Luca Carlevarijs, a well-regarded painter of urban cityscapes,[8][9] he rapidly became his master's equal.
In 1725, the painter Alessandro Marchesini, who was also the buyer for the Lucchese art collector Stefano Conti, had inquired about buying two more 'views of Venice', when the agent urged him to consider instead the work of "Antonio Canale... it is like Carlevaris, but you can see the sun shining in it."[10]
Outdoor painting
Much of Canaletto's early artwork was painted "from nature", differing from the then customary practice of completing paintings in the studio. Some of his later works do revert to this custom, as suggested by the tendency for distant figures to be painted as blobs of colour – an effect possibly produced by using a camera obscura, which blurs farther-away objects. Also, his paintings are always notable for their accuracy, an example being his recording of the seasonal submerging of Venice in water and ice.[11] In particular, his precise use of correct perspective has led experts in the past to believe that much of the detail in his paintings had been achieved by tracing the image off a camera obscura. It is known that Canaletto owned a camera obscura, but several experts today are of the opinion that he may have taken some inspiration from it, rather than actually using it for accurate photorealistic tracing in preparation for his paintings.[12][13]
Early and late work
Canaletto's early works remain his most coveted and, according to many authorities, his best. One of his early pieces is
Later, Canaletto painted grand scenes of the canals of Venice and the
His graphic print S. A. Giustina in Prà della Vale was found in the 2012 Munich Art Hoard.[15]
Work in England
Many of his pictures were sold to Englishmen on their
In the 1740s, Canaletto's market was disrupted when the
Whilst in England, between 1749 and 1752 Canaletto lived at number 41 Beak Street in London's Soho district.[18]
He remained in England until 1755, producing views of London (including several of the new Westminster Bridge, which was completed during his stay) and of his patrons' houses and castles. These included Northumberland House for Sir Hugh Smithson, Bt., who by marriage later became the 2nd Earl of Northumberland; and Warwick Castle for Lord Brooke, later 1st Earl of Warwick. Smithson was one of the commissioners of Westminster Bridge, and it is "not impossible" that he had encouraged Canaletto to come to England and record the beginning of the bridge's life.[19] His 1754 painting of Old Walton Bridge includes an image of Canaletto himself.
He was often expected to paint England in the fashion with which he had painted his native city. Canaletto's painting began to suffer from repetitiveness, losing its fluidity, and becoming mechanical to the point that the English art critic George Vertue suggested that the man painting under the name 'Canaletto' was an impostor. This may have been because Canaletto's nephew, Bernardo Bellotto, was also using his uncle's nickname; or more likely because the story had been spread by unscrupulous art dealers who had been passing off copies of Canaletto's own work and were anxious to see him return to Venice.[19] Historian Michael Levey described his work from this period as "inhibited".[20]
In order to refute this claim the artist, through an advertisement in a newspaper, invited "any Gentleman" to inspect his latest painting of
After his return to Venice, Canaletto was elected to the Venetian Academy in 1763 and appointed prior of the Collegio dei Pittori. He continued to paint until his death in 1768. In his later years, he often worked from old sketches, but he sometimes produced surprising new compositions. He was willing to make subtle alterations to topography for artistic effect.[9]
He wsa buried at San Lio, Venice, the church where he was baptized.[22]
Market
His students included his nephew Bernardo Bellotto, Francesco Guardi, Michele Marieschi, Gabriele Bella and Giuseppe Moretti. The painter, Giuseppe Bernardino Bison, was a follower of his style.[11]
Joseph Smith sold much of his collection to George III, creating the bulk of the large collection of works by Canaletto owned by the
Canaletto's views always fetched high prices, and as early as the 18th century
See also
- List of works by Canaletto
- Bernardo Bellotto, also known as "Canaletto" in Germany and Poland, was Canaletto's nephew and pupil[25]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-88-09-76198-8.
- ^ Luciano Canepari. "Canaletto". DiPI Online (in Italian). Retrieved 17 March 2021.
- ^ a b Alice Binion and Lin Barton. "Canaletto." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 6 Jan. 2017
- ^ Constable, William G. "Canaletto". Encyclopædia Britannica.
- ^ "Canaletto", National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
- ^ "Canaletto". Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ISBN 0198173245.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4179-4508-5.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8239-6686-8.
- ^ J.G. Links, Canaletto and his patrons, Granada Publishing/Paul Elek Ltd., London 1977, p. 1.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-84046-0.
- ^ Furness, Hannah. (14 April 2017). "Royal Collection uses infrared to prove Canaletto did not trace his drawings". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^
Erkelens, Casper (1 March 2020). "Perspective on Canaletto's Paintings of Piazza San Marco in Venice" (PDF). Art and Perception. 8. brill.com: 49–67. S2CID 212940083. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- ^ "Canaletto | The Stonemason's Yard | NG127 | National Gallery, London". www.nationalgallery.org.uk. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- ^ "Photo Gallery: Munich Nazi Art Stash Revealed". Spiegel. 17 November 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
- ^ "Canaletto". National Gallery of Art. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-486-22705-4.
- ISBN 0713401419
- ^ JSTOR 41373290.
- ISBN 978-0-300-06057-7.
- ISBN 978-0-312-23299-3.
- ^ Lonely Planet website, Chiesa di San Lio
- ^ Louise Jury, the Independent, 11 November, 2005
- ^ "Bacino di San Marco, Venice". collections.mfa.org. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 172. .
External links
- 132 artworks by or after Canaletto at the Art UK site
- Web Gallery of Art
- The Canaletto Foundation More than 335 images of Canaletto's paintings.
- Canaletto and the history of vedute
- Canaletto, a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art