Canaletto. Octave Uzanne

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      Goldoni informs us[9] that people also found delight in music during long trips. When he returned from Pavia to Venice with some friends, he rented a boat decorated with painted, carved ornaments. They made slow progress, with nothing regular but their pleasure and the nightly stop. Every one of them was a musician: one played the violoncello, three others the violin, another played the guitar and another a hunting horn. Goldoni compiled even the most minor incidents along the route in a journal he wrote in verse. And every evening, after their meal, he recited his poetry. Then, the improvised orchestra set up on the deck and residents applauded as the boat passed by. In Cremona, they gave them a great ovation and offered a banquet to this joyous band. Thus celebrated, the artists recommenced their concert with the help of other performers, and dancing went on until morning.

      This example, chosen from about a thousand, shows how avidly joyous these people were, how they were induced to take life as it came, as pleasantly as they could, how they knew to enjoy every pleasure and exercise their intelligence by bringing such occasions to life. This passion for pleasure would cover over any other impressions for a while. When on certain days one saw a bustling and decked out Venice, why would anyone have suspected that it was in decline? Nevertheless, its irremediable downfall was accentuated even more during the second half of the eighteenth century, until it became absolute. The splendour of the ancient apotheoses made the contrast between the strengths of the past and the misery of the later time more obvious. Venice no longer resembled the triumphant queen that Veronese had painted under those imposing structures, being crowned by spirits and receiving acclamations from blossoming young women and splendid gentlemen. Wasn’t this city instead as Musset described it, “the poor old woman from the Lido”?

      All of its energy seemed to have burned itself out. A kind of languor paralysed any effort. The silent palaces seemed to be abandoned and were deteriorating. Beggars made up a third of the population. Instead of harbouring flags from every country as in times past, the Giudecca Canal was almost empty, waiting for fleets that were never going to return. However, in the poor neighbourhoods, one could still find façades decorated with columns and picturesque corners that would tempt any painter. The Venice that had fallen from its supreme position, with all its memories, was still an appealing city. The evenings were so enchanting, with strings of lights lit up under the Procuratie arches, and conducive to thinking about all one had seen during the day. The flower vendors would approach, silently offering flowers without disturbing your daydream. Little by little, the crowds would grow thicker and strolling musicians would sing the arias of Bellini and Verdi or play a harp and violin concert. And down there, against a sky filled with twinkling stars, the dark mass of Saint Mark’s would be silhouetted while the dark arches over its entrances, barely lit up by some flames swaying to and fro, were dimly outlined.

      31. Venice: Piazza San Marco with the Basilica and Campanile, c. 1725.

      Oil on canvas, 135 × 172.8 cm.

      The Royal Collection, London.

      32. Venice: Piazza San Marco, c. 1756.

      Oil on canvas, 46.4 × 37.8 cm.

      The National Gallery, London.

      33. The Crossing of San Marco, looking North, c. 1735.

      Pencil and ink, 27.2 × 18.8 cm.

      The Royal Collection, London.

      34. Venice: the Interior of San Marco by Day, c. 1755–1756.

      Oil on canvas, 36.5 × 33.5 cm.

      The Royal Collection, London.

      35. Interior Court of the Doges’ Palace, Venice, c. 1756.

      Oil on canvas, 46.6 × 37.5 cm.

      Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

      Canaletto: His Talent and Training

      36. The Doge’s Annual Visit to Santa Maria della Salute, c. 1760.

      Pen, brown ink and wash drawing,

      38.1 × 55.3 cm. Private Collection.

      His Origins and Youth

      Giovanni Antonio Canal was born in Venice on October 18, 1697. He usually used the surname “Canaletto”, which he assumed or received during a trip to London. Also, we should mention that every now and then he used the appellation Il Tottino. In effect, Giovanni Antonio Canal signed or wrote his name numerous ways: Canal, da Canal, Canale, Canalelo, Canaletti and Canaletto. Two centuries ago, no-one found anything wrong with that. And no matter what a person’s social status, correct spelling of proper or nicknames was non-existent and offered no consistency. Therefore, it was difficult to confirm whether or not he was of noble origin or if he legitimately possessed that nobility by which we have usually known him.

      In his writings, Antonio Maria Zanetti believed he could attribute patrician origins to Canaletto by linking him to the noble line of da Canal, which he described as having “a sky blue coat of arms, with a silver chevron”. However, Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, in his portrait of Canaletto entitled Nobilis Venetus, leads one to believe that his family had “a sky blue coat of arms, with a gold chevron”. This regrettable difference causes one to doubt that the master illustrator of Venice’s enchanting faces ever appeared as a descendant of an eminent family in the libro d’oro that was kept at the Doges’ Palace. What difference would the favours or the status of “patrician” really have made? If Canaletto was only flattering himself with this nominal nobility, in the end he is still truly noble, whether of Venetian old and pure blooded ancestry or not, whether a gentleman or a commoner; it is his talent that imbues him with a superior value, for which he is indebted to no-one but himself, which his ancestors can neither relinquish nor diminish.

      Moreover, almost all of the great Italian artists live in our memories under assumed names, like the Apostles, notably the primitives and simple artisans who participated in the beginnings of art movements, religious groups and historical legends. We call the artist Giovanni Antonio Canal “Canaletto” (son of Canal), as we call Domenico di Tommaso Bigordi “Ghirlandaio” (his father, a goldsmith, had invented the ghirlande), as we call Andrea del “Sarto” (because his father was a tailor, sarto in Italian), and as we name Tintoretto (whose father was a dyer), whose name refers СКАЧАТЬ