Description
This view of the Piazza San Marco, Venice shows Bellotto's devotion to faithful observation. At the left is the church of St. Mark with the Doge's Palace just beyond, leading to the lagoon. Vertically dividing the canvas is the campanile (bell tower) with the Procuratie Nuove (a government building) extending to the right. At the extreme right, opposite St. Mark's, is the façade of the church of San Geminiano which was removed in the 19th century by Napoleon. The two wings of the Procuratie were then joined across the west end of the piazza. Bernardo Bellotto was the nephew and student of Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal, 1697–1768) who ran one of the most productive painting workshops in Italy. Like his uncle, Bellotto specialized in vedute (views) of Italy, especially Venice, which were purchased avidly by British aristocrats traveling on the Grand Tour. Bellotto later worked for the courts of Dresden, Vienna, Warsaw, and Munich, painting topographical and imaginary views of those cities.
Provenance
William, 2nd Earl of Craven [1809-1866], Combe Abbey, Warwickshire (by 1833); George Grimstone Craven, 3rd Earl of Craven [1841-1883], Combe Abbey, Warwickshire (1866-1883); William George Robert, 4th Earl of Craven [1868-1921], Combe Abbey, Warwickshire (1883-1921); Cornelia (nee Martin), Countess of Craven [1877-1961], Hamstead Marshall, Berkshire (1921-1961); (sale: Sotheby’s, London, November 29, 1961, no. 42 [as by Canaletto]; purchased by Faroni); (1961); Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1962-)
Accession Number
1962.169
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
Framed: 164.5 x 264 x 12 cm (64 3/4 x 103 15/16 x 4 3/4 in.); Unframed: 136.2 x 232.5 cm (53 5/8 x 91 9/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Tags
Painting Baroque (1600–1750) Oil Painting Canvas Italian Color: Brown Color: Gray
Background & Context
Background Story
Piazza San Marco, Venice from around 1740 is Bellotto's view of the most famous public space in Venice, painted during his Venetian period before he left for Dresden, Warsaw, and the other northern European cities where he would make his reputation. The painting shows the piazza with the same topographic precision that his uncle Canaletto brought to Venetian views, but Bellotto's cooler light and more analytical perspective give the scene a documentary quality that distinguishes his work from Canaletto's more festive approach. The figures in the piazza are smaller and less individualized than in Canaletto's views, emphasizing the architecture rather than the social life of the space.
Cultural Impact
Bellotto's Venetian views are important because they show the tradition from which he developed his distinctive approach to topographic painting. The Piazza San Marco view demonstrates both Canaletto's influence (in the precision of the architectural rendering) and Bellotto's independence (in the cooler light and more analytical perspective). The painting is a document of Bellotto's artistic formation—the Canaletto tradition seen through the eyes of a younger artist who would develop a more northern, more documentary approach to topographic painting.
Why It Matters
Piazza San Marco, Venice is Bellotto learning from Canaletto and beginning to surpass him: the same topographic precision, but with a cooler light and a more analytical perspective that gives the scene a documentary quality Canaletto never achieved. The piazza is accurate enough to serve as an architectural record, but atmospheric enough to be a painting, not a photograph.
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