Canaletto's Perspectives of Venice

Canaletto was one of the most influential Venetian artists of the eighteenth century. He sought to entertain his clients and to improve his compositions by creating spaces that were inspired by places that actually existed but were better than reality. … Continue reading →

Canaletto traveled back to Venice for short visits in 1751 and 1753, and finally returned there from England for good in 1755. By the time he returned, his nephew Bellotto was making a name for himself, and Francesco Guardi (1712-1793) … Continue reading →

Because of the War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748), which became especially threatening in north Italy in 1745 and 1746, Canaletto traveled to his patrons in London in the spring of 1746 and he stayed in England for almost ten years.[1] … Continue reading →

One of Canaletto’s most important patrons was Joseph Smith, a British citizen who spent almost his entire life in Venice and was a passionate collector of paintings and drawings. Canaletto was one of his favorite artists and he eventually owned … Continue reading →

One example of Canaletto’s more creative type of view painting is Grand Canal: the Rialto Bridge from the North, 1725 (fig. 1), which reveals that he combined two separate views of the Grand Canal into one painting.[1] Canaletto himself commented … Continue reading →

The most important and innovative Venetian view painter in the eighteenth century was Canaletto (1697-1768). Born Giovanni Antonio Canal, the son of a theatrical scenery painter, Bernard Canal (1664-1744), Canaletto (meaning “little canal”) first trained to paint stage decorations with … Continue reading →

I. Introduction and Thesis II. Early Period in Venice III. Rome Paintings IV. London Paintings V. San Marco: Late Period in Venice   Continuing to edit my rough draft before posting it.

I have comprised a short, rough draft of a list of works that I would like to examine. Grand Canal Paintings: Grand Canal: the Rialto Bridge from the North, 1725 Grand Canal: looking North from near the Rialto Bridge, 1725 … Continue reading →

Further my research: What did he change? What did he keep? Color? Moving things around? Different perspectives? Take elements of different perspectives and put it into one painting? Does he move monuments around? Change proportions of paintings?

Bibliography Arslan, Edoardo. “New Findings on Canaletto.” The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, September 1948, 225-227. This article highlights the development of Canaletto during a twenty-year span. Arslan writes that his works exhibited a higher quality of depth after his visits to … Continue reading →

Canaletto and his Perspectives of Venice             Canaletto (1697-1768) played a large role in depicting Venetian lifestyles and cityscapes through his use of light, color, and detail in his eighteenth-century paintings and drawings. He was considered one of the first … Continue reading →