London Seen Through an Arch of Westminster Bridge | |
---|---|
Artist | Canaletto |
Year | 1747 |
Type | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 57 cm× 95 cm(22 in× 37 in) |
Location | Private Collection, Alnwick Castle |
London Seen Through an Arch of Westminster Bridge is an 1747 riverscape painting by the Italian artist Canaletto. [1]
Painted during his nine year stay in England, Canaletto depicts a view through one of the arches of Westminster Bridge which was still under construction. It was London's second bridge, to rival the older London Bridge to the east. It captures a view of the river traffic on the Thames as well as several London landmarks including the York Water Tower in Westminster and Saint Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. It remains in the collection of the Dukes of Northumberland and hangs in Alnwick Castle. [2]
Giacomo Francesco Zuccarelli was an Italian artist of the late Baroque or Rococo period. He is considered to be the most important landscape painter to have emerged from his adopted city of Venice during the mid-eighteenth century, and his Arcadian views became popular throughout Europe and especially in England where he resided for two extended periods. His patronage extended to the nobility, and he often collaborated with other artists such as Antonio Visentini and Bernardo Bellotto. In 1768, Zuccarelli became a founding member of the Royal Academy of Arts, and upon his final return to Italy, he was elected president of the Venetian Academy. In addition to his rural landscapes which frequently incorporated religious and classical themes, Zuccarelli created devotional pieces and on occasion did portraiture. Besides paintings, his varied output included etchings, drawings, and designs for tapestries as well as a set of Old Testament playing cards.
Giovanni Antonio Canal, commonly known as Canaletto, was an Italian painter from the Republic of Venice, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school.
Westminster Bridge is a road-and-foot-traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, linking Westminster on the west side and Lambeth on the east side.
Bernardo Bellotto, was an Italian urban landscape painter or vedutista, and printmaker in etching famous for his vedute of European cities – Dresden, Vienna, Turin, and Warsaw. He was the student and nephew of the renowned Giovanni Antonio Canal, known as Canaletto, and sometimes used the latter's illustrious name, signing himself as Bernardo Canaletto. In Germany and Poland, Bellotto called himself by his uncle's name, Canaletto. This caused some confusion, however Bellotto’s work is more sombre in color than Canaletto's and his depiction of clouds and shadows brings him closer to Dutch painting.
Pietro Longhi was a Venetian painter of contemporary genre scenes of life.
A bridge can play many roles in art, such as a work of art in itself in addition to any functional considerations; as a focal point for a novel or film; as a metaphor in song or poetry; as the subject of a painting or photograph; or as a home for other works of art, such as sculptures.
Euston Hall is a country house, with park by William Kent and Capability Brown, in Euston, a small village in Suffolk, England, just south of Thetford. It is the family home of the Dukes of Grafton.
Events from the year 1746 in art.
Michele Marieschi or Michele Giovanni Marieschi, also Michiel, also known as Michiel, was an Italian painter and engraver. He is mainly known for his landscapes and cityscapes (vedute), or views, mostly of Venice. He also created architectural paintings, which reveal his interest in stage design.
Old Walton Bridge is the name given to the first Walton Bridge built across the River Thames between Walton-on-Thames and Shepperton in Surrey, England. The wooden bridge was completed in 1750, was painted by Canaletto and stood until 1783 when, in decay, it was dismantled to make way for a stone-clad brickwork replacement, later painted by J. M. W. Turner.
Marco Ricci was an Italian painter of the Baroque period.
Joseph Smith, often known as Consul Smith, was the British consul at Venice from 1744 to 1760. He was a patron of artists, most notably Canaletto, a collector and connoisseur, banker to the British community at Venice, and a major draw on the British Grand Tour. His collection of drawings was bought for George III of Great Britain and forms a nucleus of the Royal Collection of drawings in the Print Room at Windsor Castle.
Samuel Scott was a British landscape painter known for his riverside scenes and seascapes.
Venetian painting was a major force in Italian Renaissance painting and beyond. Beginning with the work of Giovanni Bellini and his brother Gentile Bellini and their workshops, the major artists of the Venetian school included Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto (1518–1594), Paolo Veronese (1528–1588) and Jacopo Bassano (1510–1592) and his sons. Considered to give primacy to colour over line, the tradition of the Venetian school contrasted with the Mannerism prevalent in the rest of Italy. The Venetian style exerted great influence upon the subsequent development of Western painting.
The Stonemason's Yard is an early oil painting by Giovanni Antonio Canal, better known as Canaletto. It depicts an informal scene in Venice, looking over a temporary stonemason's yard in the Campo San Vidal set up for the construction of Andrea Tirali's facade of the church of San Vidal, and across the Grand Canal towards the church of Santa Maria della Carità. Painted in the mid to late 1720s, it is now in the collection of the National Gallery in London and is considered one of Canaletto's finest works.
The Holbein Gate was a monumental gateway across Whitehall in Westminster, constructed in 1531–32 in the English Gothic style. The Holbein Gate and a second less ornate gate, Westminster Gate, were constructed by Henry VIII to connect parts of the Tudor Palace of Whitehall to the east and west of the road. It was one of two substantial parts of the Palace of Whitehall to survive a catastrophic fire in January 1698, the other being Inigo Jones's classical Banqueting House. The Holbein Gate was described by Thomas Pennant as "the most beautiful gate at Whitehall". It was demolished in August 1759 to allow better movement of traffic and was possibly going to be re-erected in Windsor Great Park, but its materials were dispersed instead.
William Etheridge was an English civil engineer and architect, best known for his work on several wooden bridges of mathematical design.
A View of Walton Bridge is a 1754 landscape painting by the Italian artist Canaletto depicting the construction of a new bridge at Walton, Surrey on the Thames southwest of London, now known as Old Walton Bridge.
Old Horse Guards is a 1749 landscape painting by the Italian artist Canaletto. It depicts the view from St James's Park of the Horse Guards building in London. Built during the reign of Charles II it served as the headquarters of the British Army. At the time he painted it the existing building was due to be pulled down and replaced by the larger building designed by William Kent that still stands today. The painting offers a wider view of Whitehall in the mid-eighteenth century. On the right of the picture is the rear of Downing Street. It is also known by the longer title The Old Horse Guards from St James's Park.
Northumberland House is a 1752 landscape painting by the Italian artist Canaletto. Painted during his nine-year stay in Britain he depicts Northumberland House on the Strand by Charing Cross in London close to the location of the later Trafalgar Square. Canaletto was commissioned by the Westminster property's owner Sir Hugh Smithson, later the Duke of Northumberland. Smithson was his most important patron during his time in England. The work shows Northumberland House at the middle of the eighteenth century. On the right of the painting is Hubert Le Sueur's Equestrian statue of Charles I