The birth of veduta in Venice

The exhibition opens with an introduction to the leading Venetian masters, Canaletto’s fellow artists when he started out as a vedutisti. By highlighting the links with Canaletto’s illustrious antecedents, the exhibition shows that he was part of a pictoral tradition that developed throughout the 18th century.

Gaspar van Wittel (1652/3-1736), who discovered Venice in the late 17th century, was the initiator of the veduta genre. His contribution was key and his technical teachings, linking the use of camera obscura with the methodical execution of preparatory sketches, strongly influenced the other vedutisti. Luca Carlevarijs (1663-1730) adopted this scientific approach and enriched it with his passion for representing figures.

The paintings Canaletto (1697-1768) produced in his youth illustrate the feeling for perspective, style and preference for figures that were already marking out the artist at the start of his career. Canaletto’s virtuosity breathed new life into veduta, which then flourished to reach unprecedented heights. While continuing to work on the art of composition and perspective, as his elders did, the young Canaletto placed special importance on light and atmospheric effects, as seen in Venice: The Grand Canal with S. Maria della Salute towards the Riva degli Schiavoni (Grenoble Beaux-arts Museum).