Date : near 1760
Material : Oil on canvas
Acquisition : Wirt D. Walker Fund (1951)
| Item 10 on 21
European Painting
Painting (Paysage urbain)
Area related
Venise (Italy)
Site related :
Grand Canal
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| Description |  |
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Guardi was the most important painter of Venetian views, although he did not begin to produce such works until he was about 55 years old. He was trained by his brother Gianantonio (1699-1760), whose workshop he took over after the latter's death. Francesco began to paint views of Venice in emulation of Michele Marieschi (1696-1743) and Antonio Canal or "Canaletto" '1697-1768). The Art Institute's "Grand Canal" was inspired by depictions of the same topography by both predecessors; it is particularly close to a Canaletto now at Windsor Castle.
Guardi offers a view of the mouth of the Grand Canal, opening toward the Basin of San Marco. The church of Santa Maria della Salute (the subject of the Marieschi painting nearby) and the Customs House (flying a flag) are visible on the rigth bank; on the left, the Riva degli Schiavoni stretches into the distance, starting from ducal Palace. The canal itself is filled with maritime activity; Guardi has signed the painting by inscribing his name on a crate in the boat at the lower left.
This work is a prime example of Guardi's early view painting; he already shows his predilection to render cityscapes not objectively, but as if suffused with emotion, often conveyed by an exquisite sensitivity to light and atmosphere. Venetian sea and sky are given an idyllic, melancholic aura that prefigures much of the Romantic landscape painting of the first half of the 19th century.
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Les vedute
Le XVIIIème vénitien donnera naissance aux vedutisti, premiers des artistes qui délaisseront les paysages composés pour les paysages sur le motif.
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