Canaletto

During the XVI century, Plater’s scientific advancements replaced the crystalline lens theory that originated with Galeno, with a new theory focused on the retina as the biological center in the formation of the flat image. With this historical rupture, Kepler sought to articulate the Euclidian geometry, the Renaissance perspective and the new optical-physiological description through the concept of "pictura" The mathematical correction allowed for the resolution of errors and geometric variances between the visual stimulus and the representation. The reversal of the "Euclidean Visual Cone" for the "Keplerian Visual Double Cone" demonstrates a novelty in the geometry of observation. This change in the boundaries of biological vision that extend and correct, influenced the field of art, particularly through the camera obscura. The operation of the camera obscura approached the description of the mechanical eye, and allowed artists an instant projection of the visual scene. The dissemination of this optical instrument favored the accuracy of design, increased production speed and multiplied experimentation. It automated a uniformly varied observation. However, the probability of the drawing with the camera obscura depended on the draughtsperson’s perception. The mimesis of exercise exceeded the physical projections of the visual scene. The modeling of attention, experience and motivation of the phenomenological observer produced a visual information management based on four operations: selection, compression, hierarchy and speed. Canaletto technically developed this cultural dimension. Known as a landscape painter, his vedute had, as an aid, the drawing of in situ observation. Canaletto’s observation methodology pioneered in foreseeing photographic multiplication: i) carrying out successive drawings of a given site, ii) expansion of the details of a scene depicted with variability of the focal length, iii) the panoramic drawing by increasing the amplitude of the visual cone. The panoramic perspective multiplied visual cones to a high frequency distribution over the field of view, which corrected the deformation of the peripheral vision of the observer through linear perspective. The standardization of focus for camera obscura allowed acceleration in observation times and representation in the drawing. The image of the camera was influenced but the observational drawing as a customized product of Canaletto. He corrected in his drawings the scientific vision of optical geometry by way of differences in creative topography of the human vision, in which art seeks answers.

Applicazione della ricerca iconografica e dell'impiego di modelli digitali per il riconoscimento delle vedute veneziane del Paludo di San Francesco della Vigna con Murano sullo sfondo, eseguite da Francesco e Giacomo Guardi. Confronto con le viste e “capricci” del Campo e della Chiesa di San Francesco della Vigna dipinti da Giovanni Antonio Canal o a egli attribuite; approfondimento dei processi creativi propri delle opere citate.

Application of iconographic research and use of digital models for the recognition of Venetian views of Paludo of San Francesco della Vigna with Murano in the background, painted by Francesco and Giacomo Guardi. Comparison with the views and “caprices” of the Campo and the Church of San Francesco della Vigna represented by Giovanni Antonio Canal or attributed to the artist; deepening of the creative processes of the works cited.

Not only superficial or erroneous interpretations of documents, but even interpretations of non-existent documents, or rather that would have existed, had they been read. Excessive and superfluous effort for certain personalities in the context of the culture and architectural history of Venice. But also as regards the depictions of the city, why waste time understanding what the artist represented? In both cases, hundreds of erudite pages can still be written, a form like any other of the usual contempt for the city and its history.
Going further instead, it is possible to provide real knowledge contributions, in this case on two areas, at different times, intended for gardens and heavily altered, moreover characterized by evident misunderstandings in their historical and architectural evaluation.

Non solo superficiali o erronee interpretazioni di documenti, ma addirittura interpretazioni di documenti inesistenti, o meglio che sarebbero esistiti, se fossero stati letti. Fatica eccessiva e superflua per taluni personaggi nell’ambito della cultura e della storia architettonica di Venezia. Ma anche per quanto riguarda le raffigurazioni della città, perché perdere tempo a capire cosa l’artista ha rappresentato? In entrambi i casi si possono ugualmente scrivere centinaia di dotte pagine, una forma come un’altra del consueto disprezzo per la città e la sua storia.
Andando invece oltre, è possibile fornire reali contributi di conoscenza, in questo caso su due aree, in tempi diversi, destinate a giardino e fortemente alterate, per di più caratterizzate da palesi fraintendimenti nella loro valutazione storica e architettonica.

Un caso di errata interpretazione di documenti d’archivio, che diviene funzionale al sostegno di una particolare tesi e per dimostrare ciò che è indimostrabile, almeno allo stato attuale delle conoscenze, falsando parzialmente le conseguenti interpretazioni dell’opera.
La sola cosa certa è l'impalpabile ma viva presenza dell’artista, che sembra prendersi gioco, con indizi contrastanti, degli interpreti e studiosi della sua arte.

A case of misinterpretation of archive documents, which becomes functional in support of a particular thesis and to demonstrate what is unprovable, at least at the current state of knowledge, partially falsifying the consequent interpretations of the work.
The only certain thing is the intangible but living presence of artist, who seems to make fun, with contrasting clues, of the interpreters and scholars of his art.

El  presente  estudio analiza la aportación metodológica  de la obra “Capriccio con edifici palladiani” de Antonio Canal (Canaletto) para la formulación indirecta de una teoría de la  proyección  arquitectónica  que  culminará  con  las  propuestas  de  la  “Città  análoga”  y  la  “Collage  City” de  Aldo Rossi  y Colin  Rowe  respectivamente  y  la  creación de  un nuevo concepto de ciudad posmoderna. Contraponiendo  ambas  propuesta  se  demuestra  como Rossi  fundamenta  un  esquema  de  referencia  con  el  que contar para  ordenar una  serie  de  conocimientos  sin  ninguna presunción de aplicabilidad implícita en el concepto, mientras  que  en Rowe  el esfuerzo de sistematización está orientado  expresamente  a  la  formulación  de  enunciados con  valor  de  generalización,  que  se  espera  puedan  ser comprobados  por  sucesivas  adquisiciones  empíricas.  Las divergencias surgidas de este planteamiento, sin embargo, no  impiden  una  lectura  reconciliadora  de  las  posiciones que  en  ambos  casos  presentan  una  interpretación  de  la realidad  urbana  que  formula  el paradigma  de una idea  de ciudad  en  la  que  la  imaginación  histórica  proyectada  en los  fenómenos  urbanos  da  lugar a otros  hechos  enmarcados  en  el  cuadro  de  un  sistema  analógico  que  permite
entrever una idea arquitectónica. Tanto Rossi como Rowe se  sirven  del  método  de  proyección  utilizado  por  Canaletto que  partiendo de  modelos  extraídos de  la realidad y del  proyecto  halla  la  fantasía  que  materializada  en  una
“veduta” imaginaria  por medio de  montajes  estáticos  que permitirán la  aparición  de  posibles  correspondencias. De este  modo,  se  introduce  la  analogía  en  el  análisis  de  la realidad  urbana que  anuncia la  posible  representación  de
una ciudad en la que  convergen realidad y  ficción, demostrando  que  a  través  de  los  instrumentos  limitados  de  la pintura es  posible  investigar  el proyecto  urbano  y arquitectónico  para  capturar  la  esencia  de  su  historicidad.  La
pintura como proyecto de una ciudad construida desde  su memoria con consciencia y memoria de  sí misma. Donde los  edificios,  acumulación  de  signos,  son  manipulados como  “objets  trouvés”  para  la  creación  de  una  escena donde tiempo y espacio no tienen unos límites fijos.

L’autore del saggio commenta l’introduzione a Canaletto
redatta da Giuseppe Berto per i Classici dell’arte Rizzoli.
Per adempiere all’incarico, Berto non fa uso di un linguaggio
specialistico, ma della prosa narrativa che più gli
è congeniale. Il saggio dimostra come Berto scelga di non
introdurre, ma di ‘raccontare’ Canaletto, poiché tratta la
sua vicenda umana alla stregua di quella di un personaggio
letterario, sviluppa i temi tipici dei suoi romanzi maggiori
e mette in atto un processo di immedesimazione con
il pittore veneto.

Le architetture perdute, alterate, dimenticate, ignorate o mistificate, se svelate, possono raccontare la storia urbana e civile della città, nella sua formazione ed evoluzione, in un area periferica ma ricca di importanti insediamenti di famiglie patrizie e cittadinesche emergenti, con ampi spazi adatti all’insediamento di manifatture e giardini, con una importante presenza di ospiti stranieri, dai diplomatici ai personaggi d’eccezione.

The lost, altered, forgotten, ignored or mystified architectures, if revealed, can tell the urban and civil history of the city, in its formation and evolution, in a peripheral area but rich in important settlements of patrician and emerging citizen families, with large spaces suitable for the establishment of factories and gardens, with an important presence of foreign guests, from diplomats to exceptional personalities.

Der Name »Canaletto« ist wie kein anderer mit der Blütephase der Vedutenmalerei im 18. Jahrhundert verbunden. Dass sich dahinter zwei verschiedene, wenn auch eng miteinander verbundene Künstlerfiguren verbergen, hat bereits für viel Verwirrung gesorgt. Bernardo Bellotto hat den Beinamen »Canaletto« von seinem Lehrer und frühen Förderer Giovanni Antonio Canal (1697–1768) übernommen. Durch den identischen Künstlernamen stand er lange Zeit in dessen Schatten, zumindest was sein Frühwerk betrifft. Als sich ihre Wege schließlich trennen und der eine nach England, der andere nach Dresden übersiedelt, hat Bellotto jedoch seinen eigenen, unabhängigen Stil gefunden und wird im Laufe seiner Künstlerkarriere an den Höfen von Dresden, Wien, München und Warschau als »Canaletto der europäischen Höfe« großen Ruhm erlangen. Der Essay zeichnet die Stationen seiner Biographie und seines künstlerischen Werdegangs nach.

Alberto Pullicino - Malta's best topographic artist of the mid-eighteenth century was for two centuries not only unjustly neglected but practically obliterated from memory until attention to his work was drawn in a 1986 publication by a top London art auctioneer. Alberto Pullicino's claim to relevance to art historians is due to his insistence of 'd'apres nature' painting like his Venetian contemporary, Canaletto.  Unfortunately this talented topographic artist died in 1758, still in his thirties, with the promise of his maturer work unrealized.

THE PALACE  OF THE KIND YOU HAVE NOWHERE ELSE IN POLAND.  SAXON INSPIRATIONS IN THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE WARSAW RESIDENCE JÓZEF WANDALIN MNISZECH, GRAND MARSHALL OF THE CROWN
The raising of the residence of Józef Wandalin Mniszech (1670-1747) in Senatorska Street was one of the major constructing projects in Warsaw in the 1720s. The office of the Grand Marshal of the Crown held by Mniszech, the palace’s owner, stipulated the necessity to create ceremonial space. The genesis and importance of extremely novel architectural forms of the facility, including e.g. mansard roof, become justifiable once the political impact of the palace’s owner and his broad intellectual horizons, the alterations of royal residences undertaken in the period, as well as a wider European context, are taken into account. What emerges as the main reference point is the architecture of Saxony. Interestingly, craftsmen working simultaneously for Augustus II and his projects, were employed to work on the Marshal’s residence.
The analysis of the preserved archival records allows to unequivocally affiliate the construction with General Burkhard Christoph von Münnich, who being a hydraulic engineer and architekt militaris served at the court of Augustus II. Let us remind that the Count won fame as the builder of the Peter and Paul Fortress where in 1734 he continued its construction after the death of Domenico Trezzini. Contrary to the generally ascertained view, Münnich did not leave Warsaw for good in 1721. On 25 April and 16 May 1735, he hosted dinners in Warsaw; the latter was held to celebrate the coronation of Empress Anna. The architect may have met with Mniszech in Saxony where the Grand Marshal travelled regularly. The main part of the project had been implemented by 1718, however the finishing off works still continued in the latter half of the 1720s. The Mniszech Residence was highly appreciated by the contemporary and ranked among the most sumptuous magnate residences; it was painted in the panoramas by F. C. Hübner and F. C. Schmidt respectively, and following the reroofing conducted by Józef’s son Jerzy August Mniszech, it was immortalized in the famous painting by Canaletto.
Letters from 1717-18 addressed to Mniszech by Sebastian Rybczyñski heading the construction works illustrate the complicated process delaying the completion of the project, such as, e.g.: difficulties with obtaining lime due to low water level and shortage of bricks purchased by other Warsaw‘factories. Assuming the function of the Grand Marshal of the Crown was possible only by the wealthiest magnates: representation expenses were high. One of these was the ample sum to be paid for the palace in Senatorska Street. The Germans employed to do the construction works expected much higher payment than Polish craftsmen; not only did they demand fees higher than those paid by senators for whom residences were at the time raised in Warsaw, but also those paid for royal projects. The most novel solution applied in the Mniszech Palace in Senatorska Street was the introduction of the mansard roof testifying to Münnich’s designing talents and the owner’s aspirations. What is worth emphasizing is the awareness of the fact that the structure was precursory. Rybczyñski often reported in his letters that a foreign fashion was visible in the facility, while the construction was conducted following the Saxon mode. The roof may have been the first instance of such a structure in Poland’s capital, preceding the roofs on the Blue Palace across the street, the Bieliñski residence, as well as on the Brühl and Primate’s Palaces. The character of the mass and spatial composition of the residence of Józef Wandalin Mniszech confirm the role Saxony and stonemasons coming from there played in the development of art in Warsaw under the House of Wettin, being justified in the sphere of politics and cultural interests of the magnates. Thanks to novel structural solutions the Palace became an essential example of the reception of Dresden architecture in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The writer François Jonquet first met David Hockney nineteen years ago in his house of Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles. This time, he visited the painter in his native England, in Yorkshire, to discuss his latest works, drawings done on iPhone and iPad, and the way he has always appropriated new technologies (rememberer the faxes ans Polaroids) to stimulate his painting.

Varsovia, tras la fuerte opresión sufrida en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, llevó a cabo un profundo proceso de reestructuración urbana, social y política. Desde 1944 (con la entrada del ejército soviético liberando la ciudad), hasta 1970, se produjo una completa recomposición de las trazas urbanas. De hecho, se pudieron identificar claramente las diversas ideologías coexistentes en el nuevo plan urbano teselando el puzzle urbano.El presente artículo pretende mostrar cómo el proceso de recomposición y reconstrucción urbana se “dibujó” desde las pinturas de Canaletto en el eje histórico de la ciudad. Partiendo del Stare Miasto hasta finalizar en el Palacio Stasic, enlace de Krakowskie Prszdmiescie con Nowy Swiat. La regeneración de la ciudad hizo cohabitar teorías conservacionistas con concepciones socialistas o ideas provenientes del movimiento moderno, y el carácter historicista se fundamentó en los grafismos recuperados tras la guerra. Junto a las trazas dibujadas por los arquitectos ...

Denis Bocquet, historien et urbaniste, est directeur de l´Institut français de Dresde et chercheur à l´Ecole des Ponts ParisTech (Latts). Auteur d´une thèse sur la modernisation technique de Rome capitale au XIXe siècle (Editions de l´Ecole française de Rome, 2007) et de ...

Wie es die jüngste Debatte um den durch Bauvorhaben gefährdeten „Canaletto-Blick“ anschaulich belegt, prägen die Wiener Ansichten des venezianischen Vedutenmalers Bernardo Bellotto (1722–1780), auch genannt Canaletto (d. J.), bis heute das öffentlichkeitswirksame Bild des „historischen Wien“. Dessen ungeachtet ist über den Entstehungskontext und die Programmatik der 16 Wiener Gemälde (1759/60) nahezu nichts bekannt. Die bisherige Forschung hat vor allem die Auswahl der abgebildeten Plätze und Gebäude auf ein übergreifendes Thema hin befragt und in den Kontext der habsburgischen Repräsentation gestellt. Der Vortrag wird dagegen – beziehungsweise zumindest in Ergänzung dazu – argumentieren und zur Disposition stellen, dass auch im Bildpersonal eine gewichtige Bedeutungsebene für das Verständnis der Wiener Serie angelegt ist. Ein akribischer Blick auf die Bildkomposition und auf einzelne, immer wiederkehrende Figuren wird zeigen, dass Bellottos Gemälde eine Handlung erzählen und sich als Bildergeschichte verstehen lassen.

The so-called “Canaletto-view”, i.e. the panoramic view over baroque Vienna painted by the famous vedutista Bernardo Bellotto (called Canaletto) in the mid-18th century, is featured prominently on many postcards, puzzles and other tourist kitsch. Far less known, however, is the fact that Bellotto has left us not just one but 16 paintings from his time at the Habsburg court. Let’s roam the muddy streets of baroque Vienna through the eyes of Bellotto, discover the Venetian’s craze for the most minute details and ponder whether his paintings were meant to be more than just pleasant views: Bellottos Viennese paintings – a comic strip?

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Der Canaletto-Blick, also der Ausblick über die barocke Wiener Skyline, wie sie sich Mitte des 18. Jahrhunderts dem Vedutenmaler Bernardo Bellotto (genannt Canaletto) vom Oberen Belvedere aus präsentierte, stellt heutzutage das Motiv unzähliger Postkarten, Puzzles und anderer Touristenware. Weniger bekannt ist, dass Bellotto während seines Wiener Aufenthalts insgesamt 16 Gemälde angefertigt hat. Wir werden mit Bellottos Augen in die schlammigen Gassen des barocken Wien eintauchen, die Detailversessenheit des venezianischen Vedutisten nachvollziehen und uns fragen, ob seine Bilder nicht vielleicht mehr sein wollten als schöne Ansichten: Bellottos Wiener Gemälde – ein Comic-Strip?

More than pleasant views? Iconographic observations on Bernardo Bellottos vedute of Vienna (1759/60) from a historian’s perspective/Despite their almost iconic significance for the image of Vienna, hardly anything is known about the 16 prospects that the famous Venetian vedudista Bernardo Bellotto (1722–1780) painted during his stay at the Habsburg court in 1759 and 1760. By means of a thorough inspection and comparison of the details of what was formerly believed to be primarily decorative and atmospheric staffage figures, this paper argues that some of the figures and objects in Bellottos Viennese vedute give evidence of a common theme – if not indeed a common narration – that underlies the paintings.