Bernardo Bellotto, 'Venice: The Grand Canal facing Santa Croce', about 1738
About the work
Overview
This is a very early work by Bernardo Bellotto, the talented nephew of the influential Venetian artist Canaletto. It was painted in around 1738, when he was only about 16 years old and working in his uncle’s studio in Venice. By this time Bellotto was creating his own versions of some of Canaletto’s most popular views.
He prepared this composition, which shows the Grand Canal with the church of Santa Croce to the right, in a drawing (Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt), itself based on a design by Canaletto (Royal Collection, Windsor Castle). While Bellotto has followed Canaletto’s scene quite closely here – the beautiful barge or burchiello to the left appears in both – he altered the figures and boats in the foreground.
Bellotto’s distinctive style can be seen even at this early stage. Here, he tends towards a silvery light and cool palette, and has used thick, broad brushstrokes to create clouds and give texture to the turquoise water.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Venice: Upper Reaches of the Grand Canal facing Santa Croce
- Artist
- Bernardo Bellotto
- Artist dates
- 1722 - 1780
- Date made
- about 1738
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 59.7 × 92.1 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Salting Bequest, 1910
- Inventory number
- NG2514
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
- Frame
- 18th-century Venetian Frame
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Michael Levey, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools’, London 1986; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
-
2022Bernardo Bellotto 300The Royal Castle in Warsaw - Museum23 September 2022 - 8 January 2023
Bibliography
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1956Levey, Michael, National Gallery Catalogues: The Eighteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1956
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1971M. Levey, The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1971
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1976W.G. Constable and J.G. Links, Canaletto: Giovanni Antonio Canal, 1697-1768, revised edn, Oxford 1976
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1985A. Corboz, Canaletto: Una Venezia immaginaria, Milan 1985
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1986Levey, Michael, National Gallery Catalogues: The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1986
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1989W.G. Constable and J.G. Links, Canaletto: Giovanni Antonio Canal, 1697-1768, 3rd edn, Oxford 1989
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1990K.T. Parker and C. Crawley, The Drawings of Antonio Canaletto in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle, Bologna 1990
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1998B.A. Kowalczyk, 'I Canaletto della National Gallery di Londra', Arte veneta, LIII, 1998, pp. 72-99
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1998D. Bomford and G. Finaldi, Venice through Canaletto's Eyes (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 15 July - 11 October 1998; York City Art Gallery, 24 October 1998 - 3 January 1999), London 1998
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2001B.A. Kowalczyk and M. Da Cortà Fumeis, Bernardo Bellotto 1722-1780, (exh. cat. Museo Correr, 10 February - 27 June 2001), Venice 2001
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2005W. Seipel, Bernardo Bellotto genannt Canaletto (exh. cat. Kunsthistorisches Museum, 16 March - 19 June 2005), Vienna 2005
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2008B.A. Kowalczyk, Canaletto e Bellotto: L'arte della veduta (exh. cat. Palazzo Bricherasio, 14 March - 15 June 2008), Turin 2008
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
Images
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