Vedutism
The vedutismo (from veduta, 'view' in Italian; plural, vedute) is a pictorial genre very typical of the Settecento (18th century) Italian, developed mainly in Venice. Framed within landscaping, vedutism generally represents urban views, in perspective, sometimes reaching a cartographic style, where panoramic images of the city are reproduced, meticulously describing canals, monuments and typical places of Venice, alone or with the presence of the human figure, generally small and in large groups of people. Conceived as souvenirs —almost like postcards— for foreign travelers, the vedute were very successful, their influence reached almost every corner of Europe, and they began a characteristic way of representing the landscape that was imitated by many. European artists. Its greatest exponents were Canaletto, Bernardo Bellotto, Francesco Guardi, Michele Marieschi and Luca Carlevarijs.
Description
In the 18th century, the Republic of Venice experienced a time of political and economic crisis, which produced a social impact prone to the revitalization of its culture, which incorporated the new Enlightenment values, and fostered in the field of art a search for new formal solutions different from those of Baroque art, the previous style. It should be noted that the presence in the city of important colonies of foreigners, especially British citizens, fostered the internationalization of Venetian art, favoring cultural exchange and artistic commerce, as well as the trips of Venetian artists to other countries.
The veduta was influenced by earlier eminent landscape designers such as Nicolas Poussin, Claude Lorrain and Salvatore Rosa, as well as by Dutch landscape painters. One of its clear precedents was Gaspar van Wittel, active in Venice, Naples and Rome between the late 17th century and early XVIII, author of urban landscapes with ruins and monuments, as well as small human figures, as in The pier of San Marcos (1697). Initially conceived as imaginary views, ideally composed by the artist, they soon became images extracted from reality, sometimes with great detail and a meticulous description of the surrounding world. The veduta is usually composed of wide perspectives, with a distribution of the elements close to the scenery, and with a careful use of light, which includes the entire tradition of atmospheric representation from the "sfumato" by Leonardo and the chromatic ranges of sunrises and sunsets by Claude Lorrain. Vedutism influenced artists of later times such as Joseph Mallord William Turner, Camille Corot, James McNeill Whistler, Claude Monet, etc.
A derivation of the veduta was the capriccio (whim), a type of representation based on the landscape but fantastic, idealized, generally with a particular motif that draws attention, as is the representation of ruins. In the capriccio, real and invented buildings, ancient and modern, can coexist, any element that arises from the will of the artist. Also developed outside of Venice by artists such as Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Giovanni Paolo Pannini and Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni, the capriccio was practiced by almost all Venetian vedutistas. These landscapes with ruins were a clear precedent for such a romantic taste for ruins, and they will connect with aesthetic categories as romantic in taste as the sublime and the picturesque.
Carlevarijs
Luca Carlevarijs (1663-1730), of Friulian origin, was one of the first artists to devote himself to vedutism. His first works were on a religious theme, in the late-Baroque style, but he immediately opted for landscapes and the sea. In 1703 he published a series of etchings, The Factories and Views of Venice Drawn, Put in Perspective and Carved by Luca Carlevarijs , with the aim of “making Venetian Magnificences known in foreign countries”. They were etchings, where he showed the main buildings (“factories”) of Venice, its main monuments and natural landscapes. Endowed with a strong scientific seal, they were compositions that stood out for the use of perspective and mathematical and geometric studies. However, in his later works, Carlevarijs evolved towards a way of representing landscape that was not so reliable, but more idealized, forcing perspective to achieve more impressive images, scenes that evoke a mythical and immortal city. Between 1704 and 1714 he dedicated himself to the capriccio , to limit himself since then to royal views, with more demand among foreign clients. His works include: The pier with the Palazzo Ducale (1705-1710), The pier with the Zecca and the tip of the Dogana (1705-1710), Entrance of the British Ambassador to the Palazzo Ducale (1707), Sea Port with Triumphal Arch (1710-1712), The Quay and the Piazzetta (1710 -1720), Capricho with ruins, fountain and horsemen (1715), etc.
Canaletto
Giovanni Antonio Canal, Canaletto (1697-1768), was perhaps the greatest exponent of Venetian vedutism. Initiated with his father in stage design, on a trip to Rome in 1719 he decided to devote himself to painting. Since then, his works have been very successful, especially among British clients, highlighting the consul Joseph Smith, who carried out numerous commissions for him. Through Smith's mediation, in 1735 he produced a catalog for his clients, a set of 14 engravings entitled Prospectus Magni Canalis Venetiarum . Canaletto's production is more complex than that of his teacher Carlevarijs, with a more varied figurative repertoire, an elaborate schematic organization, more splendid colours, with plays of light and shadow, more precise details, more concrete volumes and more rational perspectives. Between 1746 and 1755 he resided in London, where he achieved considerable success, and composed various works with the city on the Thames as their theme. His works include: The Great Canal from Palazzo Balbi (1719-1723), The Beggars' Canal (1719-1723), Saints John and Paul and the School of San Marcos (1724-1730), Piazza San Marco to the west (1726), Campo de Santa Maria Formosa (1730), The Arsenal (1731-1746), The Bucentauro returns to the dock on Ascension Day (1732), Regatta in the Canal Grande (1734), The Doge in San Roque (1735), The quay of San Marcos to the east (1735-1740), The Canal Grande to the southeast from the church of Scalzi (1738), Party on the dike of Santa Marta (1758-1763), etc.
The detail in Canaletto's work is so precise that it has been suggested that the painter used a camera obscura, a device that worked in a similar way to a modern camera, projecting an image onto which the artist could work. However, a scene like the one below these lines could not be captured by the camera at once, since it has so many points of view that they had to be merged to form a convincing panoramic illusion. In this sketch, the elevated point of view makes one think that one is looking through a window; but there is no building where the artist should have been located to use the camera.
Marieschi
Michele Marieschi (1710-1743) had a brief but fruitful career, although he has only recently been recognized after long forgotten. Initiated in stage design, after a trip to Germany in 1735 he began his career as a painter. He was influenced by Marco Ricci, perceptible in compositions with shadowy foregrounds and illuminated backgrounds. Marieschi's works stand out for their dynamic composition, dilated spaces, strong chiaroscuro, and dense impasto colors. Apparently he also used the camera obscura, being perceptible in his works the same distortions of perspective that are found in Canaletto. In 1737 he joined the workshop of his father-in-law, Domenico Fontana, for which he began to elaborate especially whims. Following Canaletto's example, in 1741 he published an album of engravings, Magnificentiores Selectioresque Urbis Venetiarum Prospectus , of which he was unable to see the fruits when he died prematurely. His works include: The Canal Grande in Ca'Pesaro (1734-1735), The Lions' Square (or San Basso) (1735-1736), The Rialto Bridge with the Iron Canal (1735-1737), The Canal Grande in Ca'Rezzonico from Campo de San Samuel (1738-1740), The Church of La Salute (1740), Capricho with a village on the banks of a river (1740), Capricho with a Gothic building and obelisk (1740), The Grand Canal next to the fish market (1741), etc.
Guardi
Francesco Guardi (1712-1793) is perhaps, together with Canaletto, the most gifted Venetian vedutista. In his beginnings, he worked closely with his brother Antonio de él, which has caused certain adjudication problems. Guardi's work was nourished by the lesson of Canaletto, especially in architectural compositions -and in the use of the camera obscura-, although his paintings have a more melancholic aspect, with a type of faded atmosphere that contrasts with the light ones. Master compositions. Perhaps ahead of his time in terms of the chromaticism of his works -which was more valued during the romanticism-, in life he did not obtain sufficient recognition, for which reason he was not creditor of a patronage like the one that Canaletto had, basically receiving commissions from the state and the Church. He also devoted himself to capriccio , of which there are some 300 cataloged works. His works include: San Marcos Square towards the Basilica (1750-1760), The Grand Canal towards the Rialto with the Grimani Palace and the Manin Palace (1760), The Canal Grande with the New Factories (1760), The Cannaregio Canal (1765-1775), San Giorgio Maggiore seen from the Jewish quarter canal (1770-1775), Marine Storm (1770-1775), Capricho with marina, collapsed tower and palm trees (1775-1780), Fiesta de la Ascension in Saint Mark's Square (1776), Fire in San Marcuola (1789), etc.
Bellotto
Bernardo Bellotto (1721-1780) was a nephew of Canaletto, with whom he trained. His work differs from that of his master in more geometric contours and the use of colder colors, with more chiaroscuro, and more psychologically characterized characters. However, he followed in his wake in the choice of motifs, a fact that has caused various controversies regarding the awarding of works by these two artists. In 1742 he traveled to Rome, making a series of compositions of the monuments and typical places of the Italian capital, which begin to show the characteristic stamp of Bellotto, in images of great descriptive fidelity that show the modern aspect of the ancient classical ruins. Between 1744 and 1745 he lived in Milan and Turin, where he perfected his style, especially in the depiction of various atmospheric environments in his landscapes. From 1747 he resided in Germany, Austria and Poland, where he established himself as one of the best landscape painters of the XVIII century . His works include: The Beggars Canal and the School of San Marcos (1735-1740), Campo de San Esteban (1739), El Canal Grande from Ca'Foscari (1740), St Mark's Quay from the Piazzetta (1740), Piazza della Signoria towards Palazzo Vecchio (1742), Roman whim with the Campidoglio (1742-1747), The Arch of Titus in Rome (1743), The ancient bridge over the Po in Turin (1745), Caprice with the Colosseum (1746), Dresden from the right bank of the Elbe (1748), Vienna from the Belvedere (1759 -1760), Ruins of the Kreuzkirche (1765), View of the Royal Castle from the Vistula River (1770), etc.
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