Baetjer, Katharine, and J. G. Links, "Canaletto"
Publisher: H.N.Abrams | 1989 | ISBN: 0810931559/0870995618 | English | PDF | 399 pages | 66.63 Mb
Publisher: H.N.Abrams | 1989 | ISBN: 0810931559/0870995618 | English | PDF | 399 pages | 66.63 Mb
This book accompanies the first exhibition of the work of Canaletto ever held in the United States. It follows the course of his career as painter and draftsman and reviews the different phases of his technical and artistic development. Canaletto's achievement cannot be seen as a whole without assembling a number of paintings and drawings still owned by the descendants of those who acquired them in his lifetime. Supreme among such collections is that of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who owns the works sold to George III by Canaletto's principal patron, Consul Joseph Smith; a large number of these paintings and drawings are illustrated. Among public collections, the National Gallery, London, agreed to the inclusion of Canaletto's greatest masterpiece: "The Stonemason's Yard."
At the beginning of his career Canaletto (1697–1768) painted views of Venice that were singled out by the most discerning connoisseurs, and at its peak in the 1730s and 1740s he was by far the most successful Italian painter of his day. His work has never gone out of fashion, and he is now among the most popular of all Old Master painters. Because so much of Canaletto's oeuvre provides effortless enjoyment to the viewer, he is sometimes regarded as concerned only with the visible world, as opposed to those artists who were inspired by their religion or their imagination. However, Canaletto brought as reflective and original an insight to his early work as any of his contemporaries, and throughout his career he took relief from his normal realism in flights of fantasy and caprice. Even in his apparently most realistic pictures of Venice, Padua, and London, artistic considerations always took precedence over fact.
Essays outlining Canaletto's life and illuminating his work are by J. G. Links, authority and author on Canaletto, who revised W. G. Constable's catalogue raisonné for its second and now its third editions; Michael Levey, former Director of the National Gallery, London: Francis Haskell, Professor of the History of Art at the University of Oxford; Alessandro Bettagno, professor, and Director of the Institute for the History of Art at the Cini Foundation, Venice; and Viola Pemberton-Pigott, Senior Restorer to the Royal Collection. The paintings and drawings are discussed by Katharine Baetjer, Curator in the Department of European Paintings, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and J. G. Links.
From Library Journal
Giovanni Antonio Canal (1697-1768), the painter extraordinaire of Venice who was known as Canaletto, is the subject of this exhibition catalog from a recent show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It brings together a wealth of paintings and drawings avidly collected in his day by the English aristocracy and, especially with regard to those assembled from the Royal Collection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, generally unseen before in this country. The five short essays by noted authorities succeed in capturing many of the essentials of the artist, which are easily digested by the nonspecialist. The extensive catalog following the essays contains splendid color reproductions with descriptive text on each work covered. While the book may not change significantly what is known of Canaletto, it is the record of an important American museum show and of paintings that ought to be savored by a wide audience. A welcome addition to most art book collections.
- Ellen Bates, New York
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From the Publisher
Giovanni Antonio Canal (1697-1768), known as Canaletto, is one of the most popular of all old master painters. His views of Venice and London are much celebrated and admired. First published in 1982, and revised in 1994, this book is here reissued in paperback, tracing Canaletto's career from his beginnings as a scene-painter with his father to the work of his later years. Canaletto was interested in depicting the world around him, but unlike most of his fellow artists, he was more than a mere recorder of the amazing scenery of Venice or of Georgian England. He had the power, in the words of one of his contemporaries, to paint so that "the eye is deceived and truly believes it is the real thing it sees", and his insight and technical skills were so dazzling that it was thought he must rely on some sort of optical apparatus. His first views of Venice were painted around 1725 for Stefano Conti of Lucca. Soon after he came into contact with Joseph Smith, British Consul in Venice, who was to become his most important patron. Through Smith's influence, he came to England between about 1746 and 1756 during which time he painted many London scenes including views of Westminster Bridge, Whitehall, the Old Horse Guards, St James's Park and Somerset House as well as views of Warwick Castle and Eton College. These and many others of Canaletto's best paintings and watercolours are reproduced in the book's much expanded range of colour illustrations.
Giovanni Antonio Canal (1697-1768), the painter extraordinaire of Venice who was known as Canaletto, is the subject of this exhibition catalog from a recent show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It brings together a wealth of paintings and drawings avidly collected in his day by the English aristocracy and, especially with regard to those assembled from the Royal Collection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, generally unseen before in this country. The five short essays by noted authorities succeed in capturing many of the essentials of the artist, which are easily digested by the nonspecialist. The extensive catalog following the essays contains splendid color reproductions with descriptive text on each work covered. While the book may not change significantly what is known of Canaletto, it is the record of an important American museum show and of paintings that ought to be savored by a wide audience. A welcome addition to most art book collections.
- Ellen Bates, New York
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From the Publisher
Giovanni Antonio Canal (1697-1768), known as Canaletto, is one of the most popular of all old master painters. His views of Venice and London are much celebrated and admired. First published in 1982, and revised in 1994, this book is here reissued in paperback, tracing Canaletto's career from his beginnings as a scene-painter with his father to the work of his later years. Canaletto was interested in depicting the world around him, but unlike most of his fellow artists, he was more than a mere recorder of the amazing scenery of Venice or of Georgian England. He had the power, in the words of one of his contemporaries, to paint so that "the eye is deceived and truly believes it is the real thing it sees", and his insight and technical skills were so dazzling that it was thought he must rely on some sort of optical apparatus. His first views of Venice were painted around 1725 for Stefano Conti of Lucca. Soon after he came into contact with Joseph Smith, British Consul in Venice, who was to become his most important patron. Through Smith's influence, he came to England between about 1746 and 1756 during which time he painted many London scenes including views of Westminster Bridge, Whitehall, the Old Horse Guards, St James's Park and Somerset House as well as views of Warwick Castle and Eton College. These and many others of Canaletto's best paintings and watercolours are reproduced in the book's much expanded range of colour illustrations.
Foreword by Philippe de Montebello
Acknowledgments
Lenders to the Exhibition
Notes to the Reader
Canaletto: A Biographical Sketch
J. G. Links
Canaletto as Artist of the Urban Scene
Michael Levey
The Taste for Canaletto
Francis Haskell
Fantasy and Reality in Canaletto's Drawings
Alessandro Bettagno
The Development of Canaletto's Painting Technique
Viola Pemberton-Pigott
Canaletto's Painting Materials
Paintings
Drawings
Appendix
Selected Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
Lenders to the Exhibition
Notes to the Reader
Canaletto: A Biographical Sketch
J. G. Links
Canaletto as Artist of the Urban Scene
Michael Levey
The Taste for Canaletto
Francis Haskell
Fantasy and Reality in Canaletto's Drawings
Alessandro Bettagno
The Development of Canaletto's Painting Technique
Viola Pemberton-Pigott
Canaletto's Painting Materials
Paintings
Drawings
Appendix
Selected Bibliography
Index
J. G. Links is authority and author on Canaletto, who revised W. G. Constable's catalogue raisonné for its second and now its third editions.
Michael Levey is former Director of the National Gallery, London.
Francis Haskell is Professor of the History of Art at the University of Oxford.
Alessandro Bettagno is Professor and Director of the Institute for the History of Art at the Cini Foundation, Venice.
Viola Pemberton-Pigott is Senior Restorer to the Royal Collection.
Katharine Baetjer is Curator in the Department of European Paintings, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Michael Levey is former Director of the National Gallery, London.
Francis Haskell is Professor of the History of Art at the University of Oxford.
Alessandro Bettagno is Professor and Director of the Institute for the History of Art at the Cini Foundation, Venice.
Viola Pemberton-Pigott is Senior Restorer to the Royal Collection.
Katharine Baetjer is Curator in the Department of European Paintings, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.