Scuola italiana (XX)

After CANALETTO (XX) (Active in Italy in the second half of the 20th century) View of Venice with the entrance to the Grand Canal and the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute Oil on canvas, 60 x 90 cm Not signed NOTE: Work without a frame Splendid antique-style painting, oil on canvas, depicting a beautiful View of Venice with the entrance to the Grand Canal and the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute. In the 19th and 20th centuries some anonymous painters tackled the art of “copying” the great masters of the past. One of these was Canaletto, even though his photographic painting remains, in any case, unmatched. The artist who executed this work obviously did not intend to imitate the master’s technique, but with talent he managed to paint this famous view of Venice, making us rediscover it in one of the beautiful splendors on the lagoon. The painting shows one of the most celebrated and replicated views of the Venetian tradition. The visual axis is centered on the mouth of the Grand Canal. On the left stands the monumental Baroque architecture of the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute, designed by Baldassare Longhena, whose great dome and the pronaos punctuated by columns are emphasized. On the right of the composition, the residential palaces line up, bathed in sunlight. The water mirror in the foreground is animated by a lively genre scene, characterized by numerous period boats: large transport boats moored on the left and several gondolas with felze (the traditional cover) steered by gondoliers in period costumes. The work fully falls within the Vedutismo genre, a painterly current that aimed at the objective, almost photographic, restitution of the urban landscape. The composition derives directly from the fortunate graphic and pictorial prototypes of Canaletto, who structured his views through the use of the camera obscura to obtain a millimetric rendering of perspective lines. In this specific execution, the palette favors warm tones for the architectures, in contrast with the blue and terse hues of the sky and the greenish shades of the lagoon water. The details of the figures (the “macchiette”) are rendered with quick yet precise brushstrokes, typical of workshops or of the followers active between the late 18th and 19th centuries to meet the very high market demand of the Grand Tour collecting. The view, characterized by a moderate level of execution, is attributable to a contemporary artist who looks at and copies Canaletto – active toward the end of the last century (after the second half of the 20th century) – who has managed to skillfully render the characteristics of the style and atmosphere of the view preserved in museums and important collections. Regarding its conservation state, the canvas presents generally fairly decent conditions. The canvas measures 60 x 90 cm. The painting is sold without a frame, although it is enhanced by a beautiful gilded wooden frame. In the case of sale outside Italian territory, the purchaser must wait for the export procedures to be completed.

Estimation:€1,500

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