Venice: Canaletto and his Rivals


Lovely exhibition at the National Gallery looking at the work of Canaletto and comparing it to the work of other artists working in Venice at the time.

Each room subtly featured a different rival and discussed each of them and their comparative strengths. Carlevarjis pictures invariably had a gondolier with no shirt on in the middle. One section features three versions of the same view by Canaletto and his nephews.


Canalettos work came out of it well and you realised what a clichéd view of him you have. Although many of the works are the picture postcards of their day the early work has much bolder brush strokes and less stylised views. In others such as one of the Ascension day ones you realised how thick the paint was in the detailed sections. Canaletto was always looking for a new view or image and his style changed through out his career. A clever trick was to have same view done in year of Canaletto's birth and death to show change in style.


And of course he was a master of dog painting even if they were small! I loved one of dogs doing the bottom sniffing thing they so like!

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02 February, 2011
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