Canaletto Essay, Research Paper

Canaletto is renowned for his paintings of Venice. He uses linear perspective to create most of his paintings. This essay will therefore be reviewing Canaletto life and will analyze his paintings and methods.

Giovanni Antonio Canal was born in Venice in 1697. He was christened in the church of San Lio. Canaletto was the son of a theatrical painter. People called him Canaletto so that they could distinguish him from his father, Bernardo Canal. Canaletto got a lot of his practical experience by working with his father, assisting him in painting large backdrops with arches and other architectural details for scenes.

In 1720, Canaletto traveled to Rome with his father. By this time Canaletto had already painted a number of independent works. Canaletto s experiences in Rome convinced him to continue with his own independent works. This was a major turning point in his career.

Many of Canaletto s paintings were constructed with the help of the camera obscura. The camera obscura is based upon the same principle as the pinhole camera. It consists of an in-closed dark box with a lens. Light reflecting from external objects passes through the lens, and an inverted picture is projected onto a surface such as an opaque glass sheet where it can be traced.

His principal patrons were wealthy young English men of the Grand Tour, for whom his scenes were souvenirs. They were easel size, so they were able to bring them home. One of Canaletto s main influences was Panini. However, Giovanni Antonio Canal was never truly admired by his contemporaries in Venice. They preferred paintings of figures rather than scenes. Consequently, when Canaletto died in 1767 at the age of 71 he had few possessions and little money.

Despite Canaletto s lack of prosperity during his lifetime, today his works are better appreciated. One of Canaletto s important works is called Grand Canal: looking Southwest from the Chiesa degli Scalzi to the Fondaments dell Croce, with San Simeone Piccolo, which was created in 1738. This painting is a perfect example of how Canaletto uses perspective. For instance, the buildings appear to have less detail as their scale decreases. Therefore, he creates the illusion of depth. He also mirrors images of the buildings off the surface of the water.

One of the two interior paintings done by Canaletto was that of San Marco. In this painting to the left of the nave a priest can be seen at a small altar. Canaletto is able to capture the mood of the scene by manipulating the light source. He cleverly makes the foreground of the painting obscured in shadows so that one s eye is drawn up to discover the mosaic decoration.

Landscapes of Venice and London were Canaletto s favorite subject matter. As a result his paintings were calm and allowed a sense of spaciousness. Canaletto never painted figures or portraits. His intention was to paint scenes that mimicked how the human eye would perceive the environment. As a result, buildings and gondolas that are further away appear less detailed; edges lose their sharpness, and the blue sky fades into the distance.

A characteristic of Canaletto s painting method was his use of bright-lit skies; which are frequently of Venice and London. Canaletto often uses cool colours for the sky and water, while buildings and people are often more brownish.

Typical media for Canaletto was oil painting. The support he would often use is canvas. Canaletto would make detailed sketches before he started the painting. The sketches were usually drawn with pen and ink over pencil. Canaletto employed studio assistance in 1730 due to the high demand of his artistry.

Canaletto s paint handling was very linear. His lines were very defined, and the building and gondolas had tremendous detail. His compositions were symmetrical to diagonal depending on the subject of the painting. His use of colours in his early works often featured dark saturated colours, cool tones over a dark red ground. Later works after 1740 often used bright sunlit scenes.

One of Canaletto s paintings is the London: the Thames and the city of London from Richmond House, which was painted in 1747. The media in which this is painted is oil on canvas. This painting is 105cm x 117.5cm. Most of his paintings were easel-size so that tourist could purchase them and bring them home. In this painting Canaletto has created a sense of spaciousness, with the calm water leading to a prominent skyline, and the bright clear morning light.

The second painting is called Piazza San Marco: looking east from the north- west corner, which was painted in 1760. The media in which this painting was created is oil on canvas. In this painting it s almost as if he has framed the Piazza with the huge arch leading your eyes into the brilliantly lit Piazza.

The final painting is called the Basin of San Marco on Ascension Day. The date in which this painting was made is 1732. The media is oil on canvas. This media is very popular with Canaletto, and almost all of his paintings were painted with this media. This painting is of a naval victory over Dalmatia which took place in 998 AD, and was apparently on Ascension Day.

In conclusion, Canaletto lived a fulfilling life and influenced many painters. He did this not by painting portraits of people but instead made the unconventional decision to concentrate of painting landscapes. In retrospect, his art is very important because he has preserved the beauty of ancient buildings. Furthermore, after the war many such buildings were destroyed but were able to be reconstructed because Canaletto s paintings served as accurate blueprints.

Baker, Christopher. Canaletto. London, England: Phaidon Press Limited, 1994.

Microsoft Encarta [Computer File]. Deluxe. Canaletto, Giovanni.: Microsoft Corporation, 1999.