Cathy's Art Diary

Fascinating online lecture from the National Gallery looking at the architecture of Venice as represented by the paintings of Canaletto. I must admit from the title and description I thought the talk was going to be wider ranging and look at how artists had used a variety of cities whereas in fact it just looked at Venice. That being said, Oliver Garland took us on tour of the city via the paintings of Canaletto describing the buildings and their structure. I thought I knew a lot about the city but learnt a lot from this talk particularly about the materials that were used and why they were used. I had never realised before that all the palaces where built around four principle spine walls and that facades had no load bearing function to keep the weight spread over the foundations. This meant the façade could have lots of windows and could be adapted and updated easily. This was a nice nostalgic hour imagining a walk round the city and learning a bit more about the place.

Interesting online lecture from the Wallace Collection using their collection of Canaletto’s to explore why visitors went to Venice in the 18th century and what pictures they bought when they were there. Leila Parker from the gallery explained how Venice was a hub for tourists on the Grand Tour who came for the spectacle of the architecture and the pageants. She outlined some of the annual events such as Ascension Day when the Doge, on his ceremonial barge, sailed out to the edge of the sea and threw in a ring to symbolise the marriage of the city and the sea. She then used the paintings to take us on a tour of the city showing the main sites which tourists, then as now, wanted a record of.  

Charming  exhibition at the National Maritime Museum of paintings of Venice by Canaletto. The show had 26 pictures commissioned by Lord John Russell, the future 4th Earl of Bedford in 1731 for £188. The show included one of the invoices for an instalment from the agent Joseph Smith. They were nicely hung at eye level so you could see all the wonderful details and felt like walking round a set of large postcards. There were good maps to show you where the sites were and each had a good explanation of the view and the techniques used. They were roughly arranged by type of site eg squares, churches etc. I t was a nice touch to have a section at the end on modern Venice and the environmental issues it faces. Closes 25 September 2022 Reviews Guardian Telegraph Evening Standard https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/exhibitions/canalettos-venice-revisited-national-maritime-

Lovely exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery looking at the Royal Collections Canalettos and related material. To be honest the show might be better named Joseph Smith and the art of Venice as it largely based on Smith’s collection and library which was bought by George III in 1760. Smith was British Consul in Venice and a major art dealer and champion of Canaletto. However I guess it needs the Canaletto brand to get the punters through the doors. The first two rooms focused on the drawings which were amazing. The detail was fantastic with wonderful cross hatched clouds and simple swirls for the prows of the gondolas. I also liked the drawings by Ricci of stage designs and opera singers including the famous castrato singer Farnelli. These drawings had come from Smith’s library which had been a well-known stop of the Grand Tour. One of the larger rooms was devoted to works by Canaletto’s contemporaries hung in the style of the time in a dense and decorative way. It was nic...

Excellent morning workshop at the National Gallery looking in detail at the Canaletto picture of the Feast of St Roch in Venice. We began by looking at the picture in detail and the tutor, Steven Barrettt, had some wonderful enlargements of various bits of the picture. It really helped you see the detail. And appreciate Canaletto’s skill. There was much discussion about whether he had used any devices such as camera obscurer to help him. We then looked at Canaletto’s place in Venetian art and in particular the other vedute artists at the time and discussed why and how the British were acquiring these works. We also looked at Canaletto’s time spent in England and his influence on later artists. We ended with time in the gallery looking at the picture in the flesh and at other Canaletto’s in the collection as well as other vedute pictures. I’m hoping to spend some time in Venice next year so this was a nice reminder of how beautiful the city is.

Lovely exhibition at the Jacquemart-Andre Museum in Paris comparing and contrasting the work of the two Venetian painters, Caneletto and Guardi. I liked the way it used different areas of the city as a focus to makes its points either between the two artists or between one artists young and mature work. I particularly liked one pair of the corner of the Canneregio canal as it included the flat I stayed in a few years ago!  I came out preferring the pure clear images of Canaletto. Guardi had freer brush work and a more realistic view but everything looked grub bier and less defined. I think Canaletto's figures are more expressive, with a couple of small lines he brings a person to live.    

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 do...