Born on this day in 1697, Giovanni Antonio Canal. Surname Canal, nickname Canaletto, special subject canals (Venetian). There is no disputing that his early paintings (and his etchings) tend to be much more rewarding than his often repetitive and formulaic later work. We are lucky to have his wonderful (early) Stonemason's Yard in the National Gallery. When Canaletto was working in England, he was certainly not at his best, and the critic George Vertue even questioned whether the artist representing himself as 'Canaletto' was in fact the real thing. The poor man had to give public painting demonstrations to establish that he was...
Meanwhile, Venice awaited Turner.
canaletto is in my 'hmm' file, along with Lorraine and the pre-raphaelites
ReplyDeleteHmm yes - a useful file that, and I'd put Lorraine in it too.
ReplyDeleteI think you're on to something there, Worm.
ReplyDeleteAs well as the hmmm file, there's also the hmmm? file and the hmmm! file. Into them go the Millais, Miro and Dali respectively.