The Stonemason’s Yard
Think Venice, especially if you have never been there, and chances are that the view that springs to mind will have been painted by Giovanni Antonio Canal, known as Canaletto. He was born in Venice in October 1697, the son of a theatrical scene painter, and died 257 years ago today at the age of 71, .
He became very influential, famous for his “vedute”, precisely depicted and evocative views of cities. His work was favoured by English collectors who bought them on their Grand Tours of Europe and he discovered that providing formulaic paintings for tourists was very lucrative. These are highly skilled works, often produced with an organised workshop and usually recording the lavish Venetian public ceremonies, as in ‘Regatta on the Grand Canal‘. He visited England repeatedly between 1746-56, painting works like ‘Eton College‘.
But it was Canaletto’s early pictures for local patrons that are his most accomplished: these carefully designed, individual, and atmospheric studies which include ‘The Stonemason’s Yard‘.
He made meticulous preparatory drawings and it is believed that he used a camera obscura for topographical accuracy but he always remained concerned with satisfying compositional design, making adjustments to what he saw, improving on the view, rather than slavishly recording it.
In this film from the National Gallery, Associate Curator Francesca Whitlum-Cooper discusses Canaletto and his incredible view paintings of Venice. She focuses on his painting ‘The Stonemason’s Yard’, a mysterious and perhaps more unusual Venetian view.
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