Provenance
L.T.N. Gould, Suffolk; sold 1943 to (P & D Colnaghi & Co., London); sold later that year to Francis F. Madan, London, as by Bellotto;[1] (his sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 15 July 1955, no. 88, as by Canaletto); purchased by H. Cevat;[2] (David M. Koetser Gallery, New York, London, and Zurich); purchased 1957 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[3] gift 1961 to NGA.
[1] See letter dated 8 May 1990 from Nadia E. Awad of the Getty Provenance Index, in NGA curatorial files.
[2] Christie's annotated sale catalogue lists the purchaser as "H. Cevat."
[3] See The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/2268.
Accession Number
1961.9.53
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 62 x 109 cm (24 7/16 x 42 15/16 in.) | framed: 123.8 x 77.5 x 5.4 cm (48 3/4 x 30 1/2 x 2 1/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Samuel H. Kress Collection
Tags
Painting Baroque (1600–1750) Oil Painting Canvas Italian
Background & Context
Background Story
Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal, 1697-1768) was a Venetian painter known for his precisely detailed vedute (view paintings) of Venice and other Italian cities that combine topographical accuracy with the compositional skill that distinguishes his best work from the more mechanical productions of his workshop and imitators. The Porta Portello, Padua from c. 1741-42 depicts one of the gates of Padua in the precise, topographical manner that Canaletto developed for his view paintings. The c. 1741-42 date places this in Canaletto's most productive period, when he was producing the Venetian views that English collectors were buying through the agency of Joseph Smith, the British Consul in Venice.
Cultural Impact
The Porta Portello, Padua is important in Canaletto's oeuvre because it demonstrates the precise, topographical manner that he applied to cities other than Venice. Padua was one of the mainland cities that Canaletto painted during his career, and the view of the Porta Portello shows that his vedute manner was not limited to Venice but could be applied to any Italian city with equal topographical accuracy and compositional skill.
Why It Matters
The Porta Portello, Padua is Canaletto's vedute manner beyond Venice: the gate of Padua rendered with the topographical precision and compositional skill that distinguish his best view paintings. The c. 1741-42 painting shows that Canaletto's vedute manner could be applied to any Italian city with equal accuracy and skill.
