CANAL, Giovanni Antonio, llamado "Canaletto" (Venice, 1697 – Venice, 1768)
Giovanni Antonio, son of Bernardo Canal, a painter of theatrical sets, was born in Venice in 1697. In 1719–1720 he travelled to Rome with his father and in 1720 returned to Venice, as the inscription of his name in the painters’ guild of that city records. His artistic education was probably inspired by Marco Ricci with regard to the painting of “capriccios” and by Carlevarijs in relation to view paintings. The masterpieces of his youth (which can be dated between 1719 and 1724 for external geographical reasons) were the three views made for the Prince of Liechtenstein that are now divided between the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid and the Ca’Rezzonico in Venice. Documents date the commission of four views by Stefano Conti, a merchant from Lucca, to 1725–1726; they were painted with dark colours and strong light contrasts but also with a certain freedom of style. Likewise, the two canvases commissioned by the Irishman Owen McSwiney of allegorical representations and funeral monuments of famous figures of recent English history, can be dated to 1726. These two paintings were part of a series of 24 divided between several artists including Canaletto, Cimaroli, Piazzetta and Pittoni (it is possible that Canaletto was responsible for the faux architecture of the scenes). The first contact between Canaletto and his leading client, Sir Joseph Smith, who was named British Consul in Venice in 1744, dates back to 1728–1729. The views of the Grand Canal, reproduced as prints by Antonio Visentini in 1735, are usually dated between 1729 and 1734. In this series Canaletto offers proof for the first time of his analytical precision and of a lighter pallete.
Amongst his many masterpieces, The Stonemason’s Yard. campo S. Vidal and Santa Maria della Carità (National Gallery in London), a dark canvas that is nevertheless very damaged by light, and The Estuary of San Marco (Boston Museum of Fine Arts) with a wide and spectacular perspective (a clear legacy of his theatrical set painting origins) are particularly noteworthy. In 1740–1741, the artist made a journey along the Brenta canal that inspired a large number of drawings and paintings. However, a crisis in the art market resulting from the Austrian War of Succession meant that over the next few years most of Canaletto’s production derived from his contact with Consul Smith. The series of etchings entitled Vedute, Altre prese da i Luoghi, altre ideate (Real and Imaginary Views) created for the latter, date from 1744, as well as the three over-doors that the artist called “vedute ideate” (“capriccios” that depict existing buildings in an invented scenery). In 1746, Canaletto moved to England with letters of recommendation from Smith and stayed there (with various interruptions) until 1756. This journey allowed him to find a new market for his work but his activity was by this point diminishing. Amongst the many views of this period—The Thames, with Westminster Bridge, Warwick Castle, and others—the best are probably those in the collection of the Duke of Richmond. Around 1754–1755 the painter must have exhibited his work in Paris, but nothing is known about his stay in France as there are no contemporary accounts of it. Back in Venice in 1760, Canaletto fell into an irreversible regression of his style. A view of the Piazza San Marco: facing southwest (private collection) with a daring wide-angled perspective, dates from 1763. During that same year the painter was finally elected a member of the Accademia di Pittura e Scultura. Two years later he gave that institution his famous Capriccio with Colonnade. The importance of Canaletto’s studio, where Marieschi may have trained and Francesco Guardi was definitely a pupil, still remains to be determined.
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