Born in 1697, Canaletto was an Italian painter of ‘city views’ in Venice, who painted canal landscapes with frightening accuracy, even down to the ‘seasonal submerging of Venice in water and ice’. Alongside his talent for ‘accurate city depictions’ Canaletto also shared a passion for teaching his pupils how to not only paint but also explore the cities that they lived in through the medium of ‘art’. While Canaletto’s art pieces were painted in the style of Rococo-an interior led painting technique that concentrates on ‘large scale decorative paintings’- modern critics believe that his paintings became a precedent for later, impressionist works like Claude Monet’s Haystacks Sunset (1890-1891).
Impressionist paintings are largely characterized by ‘radicalism’; they painted outside in the open to capture the transience of sunlight and used short “broken” brush strokes of mixed and pure unmixed colour, to offer a new ‘perspective of seeing’, where movement became more ‘dynamic and varied’. But how was impressionism influenced by the rococo technique that Canaletto employed? Well, although his later lesser known paintings like ‘English Landscape Capriccio With A Palace’ (1754) were painted in a studio, using a ‘camera obscura’ (pinhole image), his earlier works were painted using ‘open air’ with nature, setting a pre-cursor for the impressionist radicalism movement. Overall Canaletto was a pioneer of ‘city views’ and was popular in England for his large-scale landscapes which portrayed Venice’s pageantry and waning traditions, making innovative use of atmospheric effects and strong local colours.
Canaletto:The Grand Canal and the Church of the Salute
But how did Canaletto become more popular in the UK than he ever was in his home city of Venice and why did his reputation wane after he moved to England in 1746-1755? Put simply, Canaletto A. had an agent/ merchant Joseph Smith who sold many of Canaletto’s art to his fellow Englishmen and B. while he moved to London to be closer to his target market and demographic after a setback in his own state, the Englishmen found that the painter was unable to replicate the choreographed fluidity of his Venice ‘city views’, leaving his reputation in tatters. From working his way from the bottom to the top and finding that the wheel of fortune had reversed his fortunes once more, it is clear that Canaletto’s personal life is often as colourful as his very own paintings. Which is why naturally as an art enthusiast, I was drawn to his exhibition at The Queen’s Gallery titled ‘Canaletto & The Art Of Venice’, chronicling art works by his contemporaries, an exclusive look at unfinished sketches and an entire room dedicated to breathtaking large scale paintings like The Bacino di San Marco on Ascension Day. Coupled with a Four Course meal from Latrium, (found through Buyagift), me and my Cousin (who was visiting from Paris) set off on an artistic adventure…
Located just off Buckingham Palace Square, The Queens Gallery is a public art collection that features ‘exhibitions’ that rotate on a seasonable basis, which just so happened to spotlight the much derided yet nevertheless popular Venetian artist Canaletto. While works from his contemporaries like Marco Ricci’s Poussinesque landscapes wean you into the exhibition, ultimately it is Canaletto’s paintings that draw your attention throughout the exhibition. There is the infamous paintings series like ‘The Grand Canal Series’ painted over a series of ten years and one of the principal commissions Canaletto painted for Joseph Smith. But then there are his lesser known works like ‘The Rialto Bridge; and The Doge’s Palace, Venice’ which although in modern contemporaries eyes is ‘visually stunning’ , according to Canalettogallery.org, is one of the least popular paintings, out of the 600 that he had created during his lifetime.Despite his status as a painter, it turns out that unknown to me prior to the exhibition, he was also a talented draughtsman, using an ‘etching technique’ from his early printing days which allowed him to create preparatory drawings of city views. Some of his sketches included ‘Drawings of the Grand Canal’ which premeditated his popular ‘Grand Canal Series’ collected by his agent and merchant Joseph Smith versus lesser known preparatory drawings like The island of Sant’Elena.
Rialto Bridge Venice
While it was interesting to look back at his pre-fame sketches and witness his evolution into pre-impressionistic paintings, the grand attraction of the exhibition was of course the ‘Grand Canal ‘ Paintings, which were later sold to King George III in 1762, from Joseph Smith’s large personal collection. And speaking of Joseph Smith, in order to understand how Canaletto’s ‘Grand Canal Series’ came about , we must first delve into Smith’s role in a large scale curation of Canaletto’s works in England. While we know that Canaletto moving nearer to his target market in 1746, proved to be the worst decision he could have made for his career,we need to comprehend on a more positive note how his partnership with Joseph Smith made him popular among the Englishmen and royals who admired his ability to ‘manipulate city view scenarios’. Smith, was not only a patron of arts but also a ‘Consul of Venice’, banker to the British community at Venice and a major draw on the British Grand Tour. Before he ‘met Canaletto’, Smith had influence among the British community in Venice and many ‘wealthy upper class’ or lower class men and women (with sponsors and chaperones for the latter’ would come through Venice as an ‘educational rite of passage’ mediated by their ‘Grand Tour’. Naturally Smith, who began collecting in 1700 when he was just 18, saw a potential to tap into a ‘commercial market’ for his patronages, in particular Canaletto.
Smith’s display of Canaletto works during the British Grand Tour, helped his patrons popularity as an artist spread, whose English followers loved how he could paint imaginary views yet somehow capture the spirit of the city he was painting. Naturally, the English devotees wanted Canaletto to capture their beloved England in the same light, which is when he moved to England but we all know what happened there. But that doesn’t explain how the ‘Grand Canal Series’ came about; truthfully very little-other than it being commisioned by Joseph Smith- is known about why The Grand Canal Series were created but one would imagine, that as a ‘successful view’ painter, painting the canals from different vantage points and angles were all part of Canaletto’s natural artistic progression. You could furthermore argue that as he had a large English target market, he knew that the aristocrats who brought his paintings, would be attracted to the rich jewel colours of the Venetian city jewels and how its lavish grandeur reminded them of their ‘aristocratic heritage’, thus making them want to buy paintings that appeared to be as ‘rich as they were’. After all dropping a cool 18.6 Million on a painting, would be more than most of would earn in a lifetime but for the rich 1 % art reflected their power and monetary wealth. One might call it peacocking but it certainly worked in Canaletto’s favour.
Grand Canal From Santa Maria Della Carita To The Bacino Di San Marco
While there are other paintings in Canaletto’s art portfolio, none were as attention grabbing as the Grand Canal Series, which had an entire room dedicated to all 12 views and rightly so. The rich jewel tones contrasted with the pre-camera obscura- pre impressionistic brush strokes, portrayed the tightly controlled talent of the man behind the paintings. Although his reputation never recovered after his trip to England, where he was accused of being a ‘fraud’ for lacking the smooth finesse of his Venetian city views, Canaletto still painted and sketched until his death in 1768, where the majority of his collection was passed onto Joseph Smith, who in turn passed along the remainder of his personal collection to King George III, before his death in 1770. Overall, the Canaletto exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery was an enlightening experience and showed us an intimate outlook into both his earlier and later works, spotlighting paintings and preparatory paintings that had previously been lesser known. Available until November, this is a must see collection for fellow art enthusiasts. To finish our educational art experience we settled in for dinner at Latrium, but more on that restaurant review next time…
Have You Ever Been To An Art Exhibition Before?
*Disclaimer
Please note I was given a 4 course meal and visit for two to The Queens Gallery via Buyagift. All research is my own.
Because I like impressionist paintings, Cannaletto’s works remain one of my favorite as his bird’s eye view of the landscapes he painted, brought them to life in a way they might not have done through another medium. I love art and attend exhibits as often as I can. Enjoyed this thoroughly.
I am not much into art but each time I go to an art exhibition I get wowed! I cant belive that there are people who manage to transform something they see and make that vision into their own interpretation and then into a piece of paper like that! Beautiful!
And I can see why Cannalettos work is so popular…look at those painting! Looks like they have been taking with a camera!
I have to admit I’m not much one for exploring art, or haven’t been in the past, finding information out about painters does interest me but walking around galleries I’ve never got into for some reason.
We go to art exhibits all the time. I love art, the artists, their reasons for being creatives and the whole ball of wax. We are members of two of our biggest museums.
I’ve never actually been to an art exhibition before but this one sounds amazing! I would love to go somewhere like this, it must be so interesting and there is so many beautiful pieces to look at! Fab review as always Ana. xx
I love art history but nothing beats seeing the real thing by going to Venice!
I’ve never been to an art exhibit before but it’s definitely something I would like to do! (just without two children so I could enjoy it 🙂 )
I’ve been to art exhibitions before but not this one, although I did see it advertised while I was at Buckingham Palace at the weekend x
These pieces are beautiful, particularly Rialto Bridge Venice. It’s been awhile since I’ve been to an art exhibit!
The ‘Grand Canal ‘ Paintings are very interesting. I’ve never heard of this painter, but his work is nice.
I’ve been to many museums around Europe but the only art exhibition I’ve been was of a new artist here in Greece. I loved the detailed information about Canaletto. I was reading the other day an article about camera obscura and it is fascinating but also there is a lot of debate about it.
I haven’t heard of this artist before, but have learned something new!
These paintings are so pretty! I haven’t been to an art exhibit in a long time. I really should go to one.
Aw these beautiful paintings take me right back to our holiday to Venice back in April this year. I studied Canaletto at university, it surprises me to hear a few people saying above that they’ve never heard of him.
I’m am not a really big fan of art and the only exhibition I’ve been to was at the Royal Geo Society. But that painting is imaculate!
Amazing! Imagine the hours it took to finish these very detailed art.
I love visiting art museums and taking in all the different breathtaking canvases. These particular ones are just amazing. The attention to detail of daily life is just brilliant.
Visiting museums whenever I have the chance is always one way to relieve stress. Having see beautiful masterpieces makes me appreciate the creators talent and also wishing to see the place with my own little eyes is always a rewarding experience.
The art works of Canaletto are so perfect and real. When I first looked at your post then I thought it as a photograph but reading the post, I cam to know that it is a painting. I also do paintings and a great art enthusiast, so would love to go to Queen’s gallery and have a look on all of them.
This was a wonderful post! Such beautiful paintings. We love buyagift too xx
Venice looks stunning. So much to see and do, and lots of interesting culture to get immersed in <3
I love impressionists works including Canaletto’s. Thank you for giving me idea to what I should visit in Italy 🙂
His works are magnificent!
I have been to art exhibitions before at the National Gallery. It is my favorite gallery in the world actually and I do enjoy walking through its halls filled with the art of great artists. I didn’t hear about Canaletto before but I did visit Venice a couple of months ago and his paintings reminded me of the city’s beautiful canals and architecture.
I have been to an art exhibition and it was amazing. I would love to go to Venice and see these beautiful paintings in person.
My mum is a huge fan of Canaletto, his paintings are just beautiful! x
Wow. I have actually never been to an Art Exhibition like this, however I would love to go one day! These are such lovely pieces!
I’m not much into art but I have been to Venice and all these paintings reminded me of my beautiful time spent there. Love reading your post and getting an insight into the world of art.
Wow, I love art. I can’t believe I have never heard of this artist. Their work is amazing.
Venice is such a beautiful city, and these paintings are divine. I usually visit over 100 museums/galleries/exhibitions a year. Would love to see this one.
We are planning to go to Italy this autumn and we are considering Venice ♥. The images you chose teleported me there instantly.
These paintings are so beautiful. It definitely depicts the usual activity along the canals. I visit art museums when I can, and hopefully, I can visit one with Canaletto’s works on display.
Enjoyed reading this….always have enjoyed Italian art and have Venice on my bucket list of places to see.
I have only been to a couple art exhibits, but the times i have gone I always leave absolutely amazed. The talent it takes to transform the world around them (and in their mind) onto a canvas is simply amazing! Sounds like you had a great experience!
wow!These are beautiful pieces of artwork.All these create a live scene.I always appreciate such art exhibitions and love to visit.Last year,I got an opportunity to visit an art exhibition and loved the experience!
I really love this art exhibition that you have shown here. I am with you that I really love the Grand Canal series of sketches and paintings. Just something so beautiful. It’s been a little while since I have been to one, but I did take my daughter to one at the Getty that was pretty amazing. They were 1800 sketches from an artist that they brought over from the Louvre in Paris. And then getting to take my daughter to see a Van Gogh afterward was pretty awesome. We had a great time.
All of these looks absolutely amazing though Rialto Bridge Venice stood out to me the most. Imagine the amount of effort and hard work put into these paintings, incredible I must say.
I have never really been to big art exhibit before. It would be awesome to see an exhibit like this one for sure. Thanks for sharing the art and the information.
I love Caneletto’s work, his paintings of Venice just need to be looked at again and again there is so much detail.
Woow.. what a mind blowing painting. So much detailed art.
Never before had I heard about him. But then I didn’t really get far from Picasso and Vinci in my arts class:) But these impressionists art is truly amazing. Love the contrast all in the beige hues. Stunning:)
Never before had I heard about him. But then I didn’t really get far from Picasso and Vinci in my arts class:) But these impressionists art is truly amazing. Love the contrast all in the beige hues. Stunning:) Great work!