Giovanni Antonio Canal is an Italian painter. His artwork spread across the globe early in the 18th century, being one of the creative artists. He was an excellent painter of cityscapes and nicknamed himself as Canaletto. Besides, his father was also a painter in Venice, thus a great source of inspiration during his early childhood stage.
Within a short while, he comes back to Venice. He widely read the unique hints of landscape painting and drawings from a professional painter. The group of wealthy patrons took him as part of their painter team and gave him a profitable premium. He became famous through his early work “The Stonemason’s Yard” that symbolised his great passion as a painter. While in Italy, wealthy England men purchased his arts widely making him move to England due to demand.
Canaletto Childhood and Early Life Biography
He was born early in October 17th 1697 in Venice by Bernard Canal and Artemisia Barbieri. His father’s name Bernardo Canal made him establish the Canaletto nickname symbolising little Canal in Italian. The father was a professional painter likewise to Canaletto brother and nephew who made him grow in a painting family. They gave him support on his career. Through his hard work on painting his father and brother taught him complex Painting hints from 1716 to 1719.
In 1718 he was 21 years, and he travelled with his father and brother to Roma. Bernardo Canal being a theoretical scene painter was to design stage sets for operas. It came after experience training with Fortunato Chelleri, Antonio Vivaldi and Giovanni Porto who taught him stage sets. During his visit to Rome, he learnt more series of Alessandro Scarlatti operas. His experience on stage sets was his turning point from a theatrical designer to topography.
In 1719, he returned to Italy after completing one year of training and luck enough painters’ guild took him. He explored his painting skills more on his native city views under English consul joseph smith as his patron. He was of much help to Canaletto by introducing him to English men as customers for his arts. During his childhood, Giovanni Paola Panini from Rome was a source of inspiration on topography paintings.
Canaletto Career Growth
During his training in Rome, he learnt landscape painting skills through his trainers. In 1723 he finished his first work, The Architectural Capriccio. Later, he joined paint teachings by Luca Carlevarjis, who was a great painter. He taught him the complexities of landscape drawings and paintings. Through his art, he met across with wealthy merchants and purchased his work, thus motivating him.
Besides, the prince of Lichtenstein gave him art order, and he made it perfect. He was so famous such that another merchant “Stefano Conti” gave him another order and finished it by 1725. The arts gave a luxurious premium, and he became so busy producing exclusive topography arts during this period. In 1729 he made an expressive art by the name “The Stonemason’s Yard” which identified a populated part of the city with working-class people.
The stonemason’s yard art gave an excellent revelation of Canaletto work. Tourists tried to forget about the disorder and poverty state of Venice city. The city was vacant and full of stones and rubbles of grey constructions of damp laundry with grey clouds covering the sky. The art also indicated the city is entire of solemnity and formality with a sense of endurance. The painting went viral over the globe, making him a Superstar painter.
Besides, Canaletto also painted the bright scenes of St. Mark’s Square, Grand canal and Ducal palaPalacece. Their surfaces are gorgeous with beautiful modulation. The tan buildings have decorations with rose and the sky-blue colour making it more appealing. Its open spaces look alive due to their cheerful clusters of perky shapes with sparkles and scattering white dots. Due to excessive pressure to meet all the tourist paintings, he hired an assistant to assist in watering down his paints.
The English tourists touring Venice were his best-paying customers. But, this went on until the Austrian Succession from 1740 breakout war. The war brought his business down, and after six years of war, he moved to Landon, England. He took nine years in Landon from 1746 to 1755 where he worked for wealthy Englishmen who paid him to paint their castles. Besides many public arts in Landon, he painted the sights and sounds of London and Westminster Bridge. After completing his work in London, he came back home and became a member of Venetian Academy in 1763.
The Controversy of his Career
Canaletto arts from his early ages are supreme than his later age topography arts. His early landscapes images were figurative and intensive photos. Unfortunately, his later works seem to be innovative with unclear shades. Some research shows that it might be a cause of other artists who attempted to sell their arts through his name. Moreover, his nephew Bernardo Bellotto took the nickname “Canaletto” from his uncle. He began to make arts thus confusion to clients. However, history says that the young a person is, the powerful his eye-sight is thus his work.
Canaletto Achievements and Personal Life
His painting made him very rich. Following the auction did in 2005 shows that his artwork “View of the Grand Canal from Palazzo Baibi to the Rialto” gave him 18.6 million euros. Canaletto personal life is a bit of questioning. He never married, and any evidence of him being in a romantic relationship throughout his life is missing. Death comes over him in 1768, April 19th at his house in Venice at age 70 years.
Painters Inspired by Canaletto
He inspired many including, his nephew Bernardo Bellotto, Gabriele Bella. Also, Francesco Guardi, Giuseppe Moretti and Michele Marieschi. Besides other painters like Giuseppe Bernardino Bison is said to use his style.
