Hotspur🏳️🌈🇺🇦"View of the Grand Canal and the Dogana," Bernardo Bellotto, 1743.
Bellotto (1721-80) was the nephew of the great Venetian artist Canaletto, and learned painting at his guidance, so there's a lot of stylistic overlap here. In fact, sometimes he was known as Canaletto, which has led to some confusion and his work being credited to his more famous uncle.
Bellotto, though, is known for his darker color schemes, elaborately rendered buildings, and for his skill with depicting light and shadow; some think he used a camera obscura to get the right effects. He's also felt to have been influenced by Dutch painting of the era, as there's a certain resemblance.
This type of painting is called a "vedute," meaning it's a view or cityscape, usually of Venice. Vedute were often produced to sell to wealthy tourists...as it's known that Bellotto, and his uncle, did. It's odd to think that something so exquisitely rendered, so detailed and labor-intensive, was basically a souvenir for some rich person. So here's a travel hint....patronize a local artist when you're on vacation! You may end up with a souvenir that your family will treasure for centuries!
From the Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
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Bernardo Bellotto
Robert Lehman Collection
