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Giovanni Antonio Canale
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Giovanni Antonio Canale, called Canaletto
(1697-1768)
Giovanni Antonio Canale was born in October 1697 and baptized in the church of San Lio. He later became known as Canaletto, probably to distinguish him from his father Bernardo Canale, who was also an artist. The professional training Canaletto received from his father, who worked as a designer and scene painter for the theater, and had some success. Canaletto, together with his brother Christoforo, initially followed Bernardo, and was himself employed as a theatrical painter.
In 1719, he traveled with his father to Rome where he helped with the preparations for two operas by Scarlatti, performed during the carnival in 1720. This trip seems to have marked a turning point for the young artist. In Rome he could have come into contact with artists such as Gian Paolo Pannini (1691/2-1765), who produced vedute (view paintings), which Canaletto would later specialize in. In Rome, he also made a number of drawn studies of ancient sites, which were used as the basis for later works.
Within the Italian tradition of vedute (view painting) Canaletto explored different forms. He created vedute esatte (precise views), and also vedute ideale (imaginary or fantastic views), which are known as capricci, in these works Canaletto drew together architectural subjects from different sources and arranged them in an imaginative form to create a very consciously fictional and poetic image. Pictures of this type assume knowledge of their subjects on the part of the viewer, and were designed to appeal to the contemporary taste for ruins and the nostalgia they evoked.
In 1720, the artist¡¯s name is first recorded in the register of the Venetian painters¡¯ guild. Venice had a tradition of public exhibitions, at which painters, especially beginners, could promote their work. Canaletto is recorded as having hung a view of the church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo (probably Santi Giovanni e Paolo and the Scuola di San Marco) at the annual display of paintings organized outside the Scuola di San Rocco. His work was said to have ¡®made everyone marvel¡¯, and it was purchased by the Imperial Ambassador to Venice. The exhibition itself was later depicted by the artist in the background of his portrayal of the Doge procession The Doge Visiting the Church and Scuola di San Rocco.
After his success at the public exhibition, Canaletto was commissioned to paint four works for the merchant Stefano Conti (1725). Patrons such as Conti were important to Canaletto at the outset of his career, but it was English collectors who came to dominate the market for his view paintings. According to the fashion of the time it was considered that an essential part of good education and cultivation for the young English gen.... |
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[1] [2] |
