La Serenissima: Drawing in 18th century Venice

Lovely exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery of 18th century drawings of Venice.

The show as a whole built a sense of the city at the time which was then, as now, a magnet for visitors from carnival figures, through scenes of the Grand Canal, portraits of characters and records of interior design.

I loved a small drawing by Pietro Antonio Novelli of a gnocchi seller. I’d not known that the Friday before lent was called Gnocchi Friday and Punchinello figures like this sold them in the streets. I also liked the tiny watercolours of the Grand Canal on blue paper like postcards.

My favourite work was a picture of the church by the Rialto by Canaletto which looked just like it does now. I struck up a lovely conversation with the gentleman next to me about where the fish market was in relation to it.

Closes 11 February 2024


 

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