The Arts - Venice and the Veneto - page 584

marana 'ai Nani' ( Click here ) outside Vicenza, covering the walls with Chinese motifs,
rural scenes and carnival characters.
TOP FIVE ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) left his native Nuremberg for Venice in 1494, hoping to see Venetian experiments
in perspective and colour that were the talk of Europe. Giovanni Bellini took him under his wing, and once Dürer
returned to Germany in 1495, he began his evolution from Gothic painter into Renaissance artist. When Dürer re-
turned to Venice in 1505, he was feted as a visionary.
William Turner (1775-1851) was drawn to Venice three times (in 1819, 1833 and 1840), fascinated by the
former merchant empire that, like his native England, had once commanded the sea. Turner's hazy portraits of the
city are studies in light at different times of day; as he explained to art critic John Ruskin, 'atmosphere is my
style'. Ruskin applauded the effort, but in London many critics loathed Turner's work.
James Whistler (1834-1903) arrived in Venice in 1879, bankrupt and exhausted after a failed libel case brought
against John Ruskin. The American painter rediscovered his verve and brush in prolific paintings of the lagoon
city, returning to London in 1880 with a formidable portfolio that re-established his reputation.
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was a lifelong admirer of Venice; the American visited at a young age and be-
came a part-time resident from 1880 to 1913. Sargent's intimate knowledge of the city shows in his paintings,
which capture new angles on familiar panoramas and illuminate neglected monuments.
Claude Monet (1840-1926) turned up in Venice in 1908, and immediately found Impressionist inspiration in ar-
chitecture that seemed to dissolve into lagoon mists and shimmering waters.
The Vedutisti
Many Venetian artists turned their attention from the heavens to the local landscape in the
18th century, notably Antonio Canal, aka Canaletto (1697-1768). He became the leading
figure of the vedutisti (landscape artists) with minutely detailed vedute (views) of Venice
that leave admiring viewers with vicarious hand cramps. You might be struck how closely
Canalettos resemble photographs - and, in fact, Canaletto created his works with the aid
of a forerunner to the photographic camera, the camera oscura (camera obscura). Light
entered this instrument and reflected the image onto a sheet of glass, which Canaletto then
traced. After he had the outlines down, he filled in exact details, from lagoon algae to hats
on passers-by.
Vedute sold well to Venice visitors as a kind of rich man's postcards. Canaletto was
backed by the English collector John Smith, who introduced the artist to such a vast Eng-
lish clientele that only a few of his paintings can be seen in Venice today, in the Gallerie
dell'Accademia and Ca' Rezzonico.