Venice by paintbrush: Searching for Canaletto in Italy's ever soulful island city

By JAMES FRASER

A city encapsulated: Canaletto captured the soul of Venice in the 18th century


There are more Canalettos in the UK than anywhere else in the world. That's because (in case you hadn't heard) a major new exhibition of the artist's work has opened at the National Gallery - and it's doing a roaring trade. But, what's surprising, given how prolifically he painted his beloved home town of Venice, is that there are hardly any to be found in the Italian city itself.

In fact, there are only four, and one of those has been loaned to the blockbuster exhibition in London. This is largely due to so many of his masterpieces being bought by Englishmen on their Grand Tours, who were keen to return home with an 18th-century postcard of sorts.

The exhibition, Venice: Canaletto And his rivals, is well worth seeing, but nothing quite beats standing in the north-east corner of St Mark's Square - the exact spot where the artist created one of his many views.

Or looking out from under the square's western arcade towards the 1638 ristorante Gran Caffe Quadri and the famous Caffe Florian, which opened in 1720 during the artist's lifetime.

Born Giovanni Antonio Canal and nicknamed Canaletto, which means 'little canal', he lived most of his life at Corte Perin, in a modest apartment in the San Marco district.

Following his father Bernardo into painting theatrical scenery, his fame and money came later when he moved on to depict the daily life of the city.

Canaletto spent several years painting in England, which brought him even closer to his rich clients.

Ca' Rezzonico (Fondamenta Rezzonico, 3136) is a magnificent palazzo and now a museum with a splendid three-tiered marble facade overlooking the Grand Canal, and gives an idea of how a palace might have looked in Canaletto's day.

The only Canalettos on view to the Venice public are displayed here. There are some wonderfully preserved Tiepolo ceilings, ornate Venetian glass chandeliers and an absurdly elaborate gold-leaf chair used when the Pope dropped in for a visit.

One of the wealthy Rezzonico family went on to become Pope Clement XIII, and the portrait of him in the palazzo is not unlike a papal Jo Brand.

Canaletto wasn't alone in depicting scenes of everyday Venetian life. There's about 100 of them at the Museo Querini Stampalia (Campo Santa Maria Formosa).

Head for a room full of rather folksy paintings by Gabriel Bella, which have interesting scenes of men head-butting cats, bear-baiting and other 18th-century atrocities passing themselves off as entertainment. Don't be put off by the scaffolding surrounding the Accademia (Campo della Carità) on the south side of the Grand Canal.

Originally created as an art school, it now houses masterpieces of Venetian painting and work by Bellini, Titian, and Leonardo's drawing of Vitruvian Man, plus works by Canaletto's nephew and pupil Bellotto, who features in the National's show as one of his 'rivals'.


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You can't miss the imposing Santa Maria della Salute standing at the entrance of the Grand Canal which appears in many of Canaletto's works, but wandering round the back streets there are many beautiful squares he also committed to canvas.

Consult your map to find Campo Santa Maria Formosa, Campo San Salvador and the Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo. If you're doing Canaletto's Venice, be sure to call in at the extraordinary Byzantine St Mark's Basilica and you'll understand why it was nicknamed the Church of Gold.

Next door, inside the gothic Doge's Palace, are paintings by Tintoretto and Veronese glorifying the Venetian State.

If you really want Canaletto overload, stay at The Metropole Hotel. The building pops up in the great man's paintings.

This, it is claimed, is where Vivaldi composed and taught - and Freud, Proust and Thomas Mann were all previous guests.

Canaletto died in 1768 in the apartment where he had lived for most of his life. He never married and left his few assets to his three sisters. What happened to his wealth can only be the subject of idle speculation. And you might wonder where your own money goes when you come here.

But between November and April the hotels are considerably cheaper, the crowds diminish. And the light on a sunny autumn or winter's day with a mist lingering over the Grand Canal can create an extraordinary atmosphere.

You may even be tempted to pick up a paint brush.


Travel Facts
Venice: Canaletto And His Rivals is at the National Gallery's Sainsbury Wing until January 16. Admission £12 (0844 847 2409, www.nationalgallery.org.uk).

Hotel Metropole, Castello, 4149 - Riva degli Schiavoni - 30122 Venice, double rooms from £184, (www.hotelmetropole.com, 0039 04152 05044).

EasyJet flies from London to Venice from £54.65 return (0905 821 0905, www.easyjet.com).


source :dailymail