Canaletto, 'Venice: Palazzo Grimani', about 1756-68

Venice: Palazzo Grimani

Canaletto

Not on display

About the work

Overview

This work is almost a portrait of a building: the imposing facade of the Palazzo Grimani fills nearly the entire composition. Boatmen emerge from the left and right just in front of us, adding a sense of movement, while figures composed of dots and daubs of paint stand on the palace’s steps.

Palazzo Grimani, built between 1556 and 1575 for Gerolamo Grimani, Procurator of San Marco, was one of the outstanding buildings of Renaissance Venice. It was admired during the eighteenth century and included in Antonio Visentini’s Admiranda Urbis Venetae, a series of architectural drawings of Venetian palaces.

We don't know exactly when Canaletto painted this, but it was probably after his return to Venice from London in 1755; he died in 1768. He liked to work on a smaller scale during his mature years, and his touch became lighter and freer, with architectural details consisting of black outlines and muted colours applied with great assurance.

In-depth

This work is almost a portrait of a building: the imposing facade of the Palazzo Grimani fills nearly the entire composition, towering above the surrounding houses along the Grand Canal. Boatmen emerge from the left and right just in front of us, giving the scene a sense of movement. Further back we can just make out several figures on the steps of the palace, one in a cloak beneath a grand archway and another on the balcony above – all made up of dots and daubs of paint.

Palazzo Grimani was one of the outstanding buildings of Renaissance Venice, and was one of many properties owned by the illustrious Grimani family, who played a prominent role in the life of the city. The palace was built between 1556 and 1575 for Gerolamo Grimani, Procurator of San Marco, and designed by the architect Michele Sanmicheli as his Venetian masterpiece. After Sanmicheli’s death, it was completed by Gian Giacomo de‘ Grigi, who added the third storey.

The palace was much admired during the eighteenth century. Antonio Visentini, Italian architect and engraver, illustrated it in his Admiranda Urbis Venetae, a series of architectural drawings of Venetian palaces, made between 1745 and 1755. Canaletto would certainly have been aware of these drawings, which were commissioned by Joseph Smith, British consul in Venice and the artist’s most devoted patron (they are now in the British Library, London). This picture is one of a group of views of individual palaces – for example, Palazzo Vendramin-Calergi, Palazzo Corner della Ca’ Grande, Palazzo Pesaro and Palazzo Balbi – painted by Canaletto during his mature years spanning the late 1750s. While Canaletto’s views are not strictly architectural records like Visentini’s drawings, he must have been responding to a demand for specific representations of these landmarks.

We don‘t know exactly when Canaletto painted Palazzo Grimani, but it was probably after his return to Venice from London in 1755; he died in 1768. He liked to work on a smaller scale during his mature years – see Piazza San Marco and Piazza San Marco and the Colonnade of the Procuratie Nuove, which were painted around the same time – perhaps influenced by the demands of those who bought his pictures. His touch became lighter and freer, and he used strict dark outlines to create architectural details and muted colours applied with great assurance.

In 1806 the Palazzo Grimani became the main post office in Venice. In his book The Stones of Venice, first published in 1853, the English historian and art critic John Ruskin praised the building’s delicate decoration, symmetry and colossal scale – ’not a erring line, nor a mistaken proportion, throughout its noble front‘ – even calling it one of the greatest ’Roman Renaissance' buildings in Europe. Today the building remains a notable landmark as the Court of Appeal.

Key facts

Details

Full title: Venice: Palazzo Grimani
Artist: Canaletto
Artist dates: 1697 - 1768
Date made: about 1756-68
Medium and support: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 30.5 × 38.8 cm
Acquisition credit: Wynn Ellis Bequest, 1876
Inventory number: NG941
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection
Previous owners: Wynn Ellis

Provenance

Wynn Ellis Bequest, 1876.

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

2015

Sacred Spaces: The Lycett Green Collection

York Art Gallery

1 August 2015 - 6 March 2016

Bibliography

1903

J. Ruskin, Modern Painters, eds E.T. Cook and A. Wedderburn, The Works of John Ruskin, 39 vols, London 1903
1931

G. Boschieri, 'Il Palazzo Grimani a San Luca', Rivista di Venezia, 1931, pp. 461ff
1956

Levey, Michael, National Gallery Catalogues: The Eighteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1956
1960

R. Gallo, 'Michele Sanmicheli a Venezia', in Michele Sanmicheli, Verona 1960, pp. 97-160
1971

M. Levey, The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1971
1972

S. Kozakiewicz, Bernardo Bellotto, London 1972
1976

W.G. Constable and J.G. Links, Canaletto: Giovanni Antonio Canal, 1697-1768, revised edn, Oxford 1976
1978

V. Fontana, 'Costruire a Venezia nel Cinquecento', Quaderni de la ricerca scientifica, 106, 1978
1985

A. Corboz, Canaletto: Una Venezia immaginaria, Milan 1985
1986

Levey, Michael, National Gallery Catalogues: The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1986
1989

W.G. Constable and J.G. Links, Canaletto: Giovanni Antonio Canal, 1697-1768, 3rd edn, Oxford 1989
1992

M. Hochmann, 'Le mécénat de Marino Grimani. Tintoret, Palma le Jeune, Jacopo Bassano, Giulio del Moro et le décor du palais Grimani; Véronèse et Vittoria à San Giuseppe', Revue de l'art, 95, 1992, pp. 41-51
1994

J.G. Links, Canaletto, revised edn, London 1994
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001

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

More works by Canaletto

(Showing 6 of 16 works)

A Regatta on the Grand Canal

Canaletto

We have a magnificent view of the Grand Canal in Venice during the annual regatta, which was held on 2 February and attracted large numbers of visitors each year. All eyes are on the one-oared gondolas racing up the middle of the canal. Just right of centre two craft swing around the bend, tilted...

Room 33

Eton College

Canaletto

This view is from the bank of the River Thames, looking across a sprawling meadow towards Eton College on the horizon. A shady glade gives way to a softly lit landscape, with folk enjoying the summer’s day – a family group are picnicking while other people fish and boat nearby. A finely painted t...

Room 37

London: Interior of the Rotunda at Ranelagh

Canaletto

This painting shows the inside of the famous rotunda (demolished in 1805) at Ranelagh Gardens in Chelsea. Ranelegh opened in 1742 as one of London’s most prestigious pleasure gardens, and its main attraction was this vast circular building in which fashionable society could attend balls and liste...

Room 37

The Stonemason's Yard

Canaletto

This intimate view of Venice, weatherbeaten and dilapidated, is one of Canaletto’s masterpieces. In the early morning sun, workmen chisel away at pieces of stone. Everyday life continues around them: a mother rushes to comfort her crying child, watched by a woman on the balcony above.This square...

Room 33

Venice: A Regatta on the Grand Canal

Canaletto

This exhilarating scene shows the annual regatta (boat race) along Venice’s Grand Canal, and Canaletto has successfully captured the crowd’s excitement as the competitors skilfully manoeuvre their craft up the canal. Although many of the figures in the foreground have their backs to us, we still...

Not on display

Venice: Entrance to the Cannaregio

Canaletto

Gondolas glide across the water, passing fishing boats which direct our gaze towards the mouth of the Cannaregio Canal, Venice’s largest waterway after the Grand Canal.The Ponte delle Guglie (‘bridge of the obelisks’) spans the water. We can just make out the tiny silhouettes of people crossing i...

Not on display

Venice: Piazza San Marco

Canaletto

This small picture shows the great Piazza San Marco – the most famous square in Venice. We look through an archway, stood in the shadows just behind a group of figures; it is as if we are walking past them along the colonnade. A vendor surrounded by baskets shows his wares to two gentlemen. A man...

Room 33

Venice: S. Pietro in Castello

Canaletto

People are hard at work on boats beside the small island of San Pietro in Castello, the eastern part of Venice. While the nearby district of San Marco was popular with tourists, as it is today, this quieter corner of the city was largely a working-class neighbourhood. Its residents sailed between...

Not on display

Venice: The Basin of San Marco on Ascension Day

Canaletto

Looking across the basin of San Marco, this vast view captures the scale and splendour of a ceremony taking place along the waterfront. Boats carrying spectators and animated gondoliers surround the gold and red state barge or Bucintoro, its upper deck crowded with figures. Every year on Ascensio...

Room 33

Venice: The Doge's Palace and the Riva degli Schiavoni

Canaletto

Beneath a sky of swirling cloud and warm sunlight, we take in a view of the Doge’s Palace, one of the best-known buildings in Venice. It overlooks a promenade known as the Riva degli Schiavoni and the basin of San Marco.Canaletto has given the scene a sense of tranquillity and calm. In the foregr...

Room 33

Venice: The Feast Day of Saint Roch

Canaletto

A crowd watches as state dignitaries and foreign ambassadors emerge from the church of San Rocco on the right of this painting. They have just attended a mass in honour of Saint Roch as part of the saint’s feast day, which was held in Venice every year on 16 August to celebrate his role in bringi...

Room 33

Venice: The Grand Canal with S. Simeone Piccolo

Canaletto

Canaletto’s sweeping view takes in everyday life on the Grand Canal. A stout helmsman stands aboard a finely decorated passenger barge to the left, while fishermen draw their nets in the centre. A boat carrying two women seems about to collide with one of the fishing vessels.Across the canal to t...

Room 33

Venice: The Piazza San Marco

Canaletto

We see the Piazza San Marco from just inside the colonnade of the Procuratie Nuove, which housed the procurators (or caretakers) of San Marco. Although painting one of Venice’s most famous sights, Canaletto took liberties with the architecture to create a dramatic composition, enlarging the size...

Room 33

Venice: S. Simeone Piccolo

Follower of Canaletto

We look across the Grand Canal towards the facade of the domed church of San Simeone Piccolo, completed in 1738 – it dwarfs the surrounding houses and a small workmen’s hut to the left. People potter along the quayside and climb the church’s steps to take a closer look. On the canal, several gond...

Not on display

Venice: The Grand Canal facing Santa Croce

Follower of Canaletto

Antonio Visentini engraved 38 paintings by Canaletto in his celebrated Urbis Venetiarum Prospectus, published in 1742 – this popular view was one of them. The collection of prints increased the artist’s fame and spread his work across Europe. This composition was widely reproduced in Canaletto’s...

Not on display

Venice: The Piazzetta from the Molo

Studio of Canaletto

This view is of the Piazzetta, an area between the Piazza San Marco and the waterfront (known as the Molo). Elegantly dressed Venetians and foreign visitors – like the trio at the bottom right – mill around the square, while government officials in black robes emerge from the Doge’s Palace.Beyond...

Not on display

You've viewed 6 of 16 works