Canaletto, Venice: the Bacino di San Marco from the Canale della Giudecca, 1735-44. Wallace Collection.
Join Clare Ford Wille for this study afternoon to celebrate the outstanding collection of twenty-seven Venetian vedute, view paintings by Canaletto, Francesco Guardi and their followers owned by the Wallace Collection, which glow once again from the gallery walls, after a major cleaning project over the last decade.
Study afternoon - includes two lectures, Q&A and a short break. Tickets £20
Lecture One: Vedute or view paintings were new developments in the subject matter painted by artists in 18th-century Venice. They came about during a period of relative peace and economic success, resulting in the evolution of the ‘Grand Tour’, which aimed to enhance a young aristocrat’s education, confidence and experience through travels including Paris, Florence, Rome and Naples. Time spent in Venice however, was a necessity for recreation and enjoyment of its attractions and luxuries. Many travellers wished to purchase a lasting memory in the form of Venetian vedute, providing painters, such as Canaletto and Guardi, with the opportunity to earn a living as specialists in this new subject.
This lecture will cover the importance of Venice, the Wallace Collection’s vedute acquired by three generations of the Hertford family, and a closer look at Canaletto.
Lecture Two: Examine the differences in approaches and techniques of the Venetian artists, from the smooth, detailed application of paint which characterises Canaletto’s calm complexity to the fascinating brushwork creating impressions of shifting clouds and dramatic lighting in Guardi’s painterly scenes. However, these two most famous of the Venetian view painters were not the only artists to try their hand at this new subject and we will also discover others in the Wallace Collection, including Canaletto’s nephew, Bernardo Bellotto, Antonio Visentini, Francesco Tironi and the mysterious ‘Wallace Master’. Fascinating sketches and studies greatly add to the appreciation of these beautiful scenes.
ARTscapades helped fund the first in-depth catalogue of the Wallace Collection’s vedute paintings Canaletto and Guardi Views of Venice at the Wallace Collection by Lelia Packer and Charles Beddington (Scala Arts and Heritage Publishers Ltd. 2025)
This event will be recorded. Ticket holders are emailed a link to view the recording afterwards which is available for one month. Proceeds from ARTscapades ticket sales benefit museums, galleries and other arts-based organisations and projects.
This is an online event hosted on Zoom which can be watched live, or on-demand for one month afterwards. You will receive your link to access the event in your email confirmation and the on-demand link after the event ends.