An exhibit on Giovanni Antonio
Canal (1697-1768), better known as Canaletto, the aptly surnamed
Venetian painter whose views of the lagoon city contributed to
visually define it in the world's imagination, is opening
Wednesday in Rome.
The show runs through August 19 to mark the 250th anniversary
of the painter's death.
The exhibit - "Canaletto 1697-1768" - will showcase the
largest number of masterworks by the artist ever displayed in
Italy.
They include nine drawings, 16 books and archive documents
and 42 paintings from Italian museums as well as private British
collections and museums abroad including the Pushkin in Moscow,
the National Gallery in London, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in
Vienna and the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest.
The show required two years of preparation and cost almost
one million euros.
Organized in nine sections, it has the objective of giving an
insight into Canaletto's entire career - from his work as a set
designer through his revolution of landscape painting.
It embraces his work in Venice and Rome, the city that
fascinated him with its millennial history.
The exhibit showcases the first landscapes representing the
Rialto Bridge viewed from the north and the Canal Grande and
Santa Maria della Carità with a natural lighting lending fresh
crispness to the spectacular views.
Patrons offered Canaletto important commissions after his
success in Italy and abroad.
The Bucintoro di ritorno al Molo il giorno dell'Ascensione is
from this period.
Canaletto's talent - which reflects the age of Enlightment as
well as the music, theater, social and technological progress of
his time - garnered him a clientele of Britons undertaking Grand
Tours, also thanks to the promotion of patron Joseph Smith.
After Padua, the artist moved to London, where he painted,
among others, the
"Representation of Chelsea College, Ranelagh House, and the
River Thames".
The 1751 painting was cut in half and will now be
exceptionally showcased in its entirety for the show.
The left part belongs to the National Trust's Blicking
Estate, in Britain, while the other half is part of Cuba's Museo
Nacional de bellas artes de la Habana.
The exhibit ends with the last years the artist spent in
Venice, continuing to paint views of his city and drawings.
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