The Effect of Artistic Liberty

    When two equally talented artists work side by side, they find what might be lost to the solitary artist. Together, Braque and Picasso deconstructed and put back together the idea of space in a picture plane. In the same fashion, Giovanni Antonio Canal (Canaletto) and his nephew Bernardo Bellotto collaborated closely in their practices, to the degree that many pieces of theirs to this day haven’t been properly attributed to either. They strove to portray cityscapes with precision, that is, vedute, often employing a camera obscura for maximum accuracy, as well as capriccios, or imaginary views altered for theatrical effect. Both styles were highly sought after by wealthy collectors and tourists in Canaletto and Bellotto’s day.

    At first glance, it might be difficult to distinguish between the two genres. All of these works are quite picturesque and the structures in each pairing are equally rendered. But after the three vedutes and three capriccios have been identified, is there anything that gives the particular genre away? Between Canaletto and Bellotto, who paints the more convincing capriccio? And which genre is more alluring? Reality or fantasy?

    The ambiguity encompassing the two artists’ works in both authorship and content poses the question: what really matters? Even some of Canaletto’s so-called vedute have been slightly exaggerated. What might it mean that artistic liberty is inescapable?

Canaletto, A Lock, a Column, and a Church beside a Lagoon, 1717/1768, Oil on canvas, 20” x 26 ⅝”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

A Lock, a Column, and a Church beside a Lagoon exhibits a serene lagoon with a lock for boats, opening up to the sea and a large expanse of sky. Canaletto emphasizes the noble church on the right, yet also places curious structures around the piece, such as a tall pillar topped with a kneeling statue, a pyramid, and distant dome shaped skyscrapers. This is a capriccio, an imagined view, inspired by a trip he took to Venice with Bellotto.

Bellotto, Vaprio d'Adda, 1744, Oil on canvas, 25 ¼” x 39 ¼”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bellotto reproduces the Adda river drifting past the Italian village in Vaprio d’Adda with remarkable accuracy. He succeeds in capturing the light reflecting off the facades of the homes and the feeling of sunset while facing east. In this veduta, we still see Bellotto and his uncle’s background in theatrical backdrops influencing the process, as the lights and darks are slightly emphasized. Additionally, Bellotto and Canaletto tend to place figures in the composition to direct the viewer’s interest.

Canaletto, Imaginary View with a Tomb by the Lagoon, 1740s, Oil on canvas, 11 ⅞” x 15 ½”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Imaginary View with a Tomb by the Lagoon is equally fantastical as Canaletto’s lock painting, with an imaginary tomb enclosed in towering, peculiar architecture on the right and ruins of a bridge and ship to the left. The encroaching night creates a gloomy atmosphere, and there is something mystical about the tomb. In his capriccios, Canaletto tends toward a more playful way of mark making. One can simply take a closer look at his figures to find small marks of color that make them up instead of the naturalistic detail found in Bellotto’s figures.

Bellotto, Pirna: The Obertor from the South, 1750s, Oil on canvas, 18 ¼” x 30 ¾”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pirna: The Obertor from the South was originally a commission for Friederich August II, painted along with ten other views of Pirna. Here we see the obertor above the gate of the town, the castle on Sonnestein on the right hill, and the bell tower of the Marienkirche on the left. Interestingly, Bellotto has adopted a stylized way of mark making akin to Canaletto. As their careers progress side by side, it is no wonder that similar visualities emerge in their work when put next to each other.

Canaletto, Padua: The River Bacchiglione and the Porta Portello, 1750/1760, Pen and brown ink, gray wash, 7 5/16” x 10 7/16”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Here we see Canaletto’s skill set with ink in Padua: The River Bacchiglione and the Porta Portello, one of his vedute. Much of this view of Padua is still intact today, including the Porta Portello on the left and the bridge over the river. Canaletto is loose yet direct with his line and marks, with a mature understanding of perspective. His washes depict the afternoon sun’s cast on the town, and he is faithful to the view.

Bellotto, Imaginary View of Padua, 1740/1741, Pen and black ink, gray wash, 12 9/16” x 16 ¾”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Imaginary View of Padua by Bellotto draws from real architectural landmarks of Padua and disrupts them with artistic liberty, generating a simultaneous feeling of familiarity and fantasy. Without having been to Padua, the stately facades of the town homes still inspire. His mark making echoes Canaletto’s, equally delightful and expressive. Or does Canaletto’s mark making echo Bellotto’s? It is impossible to say who influenced the other to a greater degree, but there is no doubt that they share the same talent.