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Dozens of men with several women and a few children gather in pairs or small groups across a sun-drenched plaza in front of a domed church next to a long, pale pink building in this horizontal painting. The people’s faces and hands we can see have pale, peachy skin. The men wear hats and shin-length capes or jackets over stockings in tones of charcoal gray, olive green, butterscotch yellow, black, and brown. The women wear black capes covering their heads and long, full skirts. The ash-brown plaza has two zones where geometric patterns are picked out in a lighter, oatmeal brown. Three coral-red flagpoles are spaced along the center of the plaza parallel to the two buildings. Each flagpole rests on an olive-green base about a third of the height of the pole. Tables under open umbrellas clustered around the outer two flagpoles display piles of cloth, and a few people gather around the wares. The domed building extends into the scene from the left edge of the painting, and reaches about a third of the way across as it angles away from us. It has a central portal with nested arches, flanked to each side by a pair of slightly smaller, arched portals. Scenes against gold backgrounds appear in the archway of each of the five doors. There is a second level of arches above. The smaller arches to either side are decorated with more scenes of people against gold backgrounds. Four gold horses stand atop the central, lower arch, each with one front and one back hoof raised. The arch behind them is dim, the back side of a stained-glass window. The stone of the arches and front of the building are light brown. The upper arches are lined with pale, slate-gray spires and curling tracery. The three-story pink building sits close by to our right, extending into the distance on the same angle as the church, and as tall as its neighbor. The lowest level is a series of open, pointed arches. The second level is also a row of arches, but more closely spaced. People walk and stand under both covered walkways. The top half of the building has a carnation-pink façade with seven windows evenly spaced across its width. The central window is surrounded by carved stone ornament. Along the right edge of the painting and closer to us than the large buildings is the corner of a two-story building. The lower level is in shadow under a sloping awning, creating a merchant’s stall, and the second level has a rounded, arched window. One person stands at the front corner of the roof and looks down into the square. In the narrow gap between the row of buildings to our left and the smaller structure to our right is a winged lion atop a tall column. Beyond that is sparkling blue water with several masted ships and long, narrow gondolas. The sky above has thin white clouds against a pale blue sky. The artist signed the lower left, “A.C.F.”

Canaletto

The Square of Saint Mark's, Venice, 1742/1744

West Building, Main Floor - Gallery 31

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 114.6 x 153 cm (45 1/8 x 60 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mrs. Barbara Hutton

Accession Number

1945.15.3

Artists / Makers

Canaletto (artist) Venetian, 1697 - 1768

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
Read our full Open Access policy for images .

Inscription

lower left: A.C.F (Antonio Canal Fecit)

Provenance

Probably Henry Howard, 4th earl of Carlisle [1694-1758], or Frederick, 5th earl of Carlisle [1748-1825], Castle Howard, Yorkshire;[1] by descent to Hon. Geoffrey William Howard [1877-1935], Castle Howard, Yorkshire; sold 1938 by the Trustees of Geoffrey Howard to Barbara Hutton, the countess Hangwitz Reventlow [1912-1979], Winfield House, London;[2] gift 1945 to NGA.

[1] The date of acquisition of the group of paintings by Canaletto at Castle Howard is uncertain. Although the greatest part of the picture collection appears to have been brought together by Frederick, 5th earl of Carlisle (1748-1825), who traveled in Italy in 1768, it is almost certain that the Canalettos were acquired by his father, the 4th earl. Some of these were certainly at Castle Howard by 1745, where they were seen by Lady Oxford in an account of her journey in that year through northern England into Scotland: "April 27, Saturday. Set out from York for Castle Howard, the seat of the Earl of Carlisle . . . in the drawing-room . . . are several views of Venice by Canaletti lately put up there" (Finberg, Hilda F., "Canaletto in England," The Walpole Society 9 (1920-1921): 25). The probate inventory taken in 1758 (Castle Howard Archives F4/1) includes several references to "views of Venice," including eighteen in the "Blue Coffoy Drawing Room." Moreover, the 5th earl does not record any Canalettos in his list of works of art bought by himself, but does include "between 30 & 40 views of Venice small" and "10 views of Venice Canaletti" in his list of "the best pictures at Castle Howard not purchased by me" (Castle Howard Archives J14/30/2; information from Eeyan Hartley, Keeper of Archives, letter of 7 December 1993). The standard eighteenth- and nineteenth-century descriptions of the Castle Howard paintings collection specify few individual pictures by Canaletto: Neale 1818-1823, 5: n.p., Castle Howard, Yorkshire: "Eighteen fine views.-Canaletti"; Waagen, Gustav Friedrich, Treasures of Art in Great Britain, 3 vols., London, 1854: 3: 323-324, no. 69: "'A large view of Venice [The Bacino di San Marco (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)]. In every respect one of the best works of the master, whose extraordinary merit can only be appreciated in England.' Nos. 71 88, 'Pictures by Canaletto, some of them very excellent.'" Henry Howard, 4th earl of Carlisle, made his second visit to Italy in 1738-1739 and was said by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu to have been in Venice in November 1738 (Halsband, Robert, ed., The Complete Letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, 3 vols., Oxford, 1965-1967: 1: 127, 148-149). The family tradition is that the paintings were acquired from Canaletto himself by the 4th earl of Carlisle (undated letter in NGA curatorial files from the 12th and present earl of Carlisle, Naworth Castle, Brampton, Cumbria). According to Browning (Browning, H. Ellen, "The Canaletto Collection at Castle Howard", Art Journal 68 (1905): 340) there were, in 1905, four large and nine smaller views by Canaletto in the "Canaletto Room" at Castle Howard, as well as eleven smaller works by Marieschi. Three more "hanging in the music-room and one in Lady Carlisle's drawing-room" were evidently large pictures by Canaletto. A curious note on the early provenance of the National Gallery's paintings is provided by the inscription ("Bought of Lord Carlisle/ 1825 Gower") on the reverse of the lining canvas of 1945.15.4, suggesting that the painting was sold by the 5th earl in 1825. (George Granville, baron Gower [1758-1833], became 2d marquess of Stafford in 1803 and 1st duke of Sutherland in 1833. He was one of the syndicate of three, together with his uncle the duke of Bridgewater and the 5th earl of Carlisle, involved with the importation of the Italian pictures from the Orléans collection in France in 1797-1798). The 5th earl died in 1825, so it may be that his son, George, 6th earl of Carlisle (1773-1848) sold the painting after his father's death to assist with the usual financial problems connected with probate. As Eeyan Hartley points out (letter of 7 December 1993 in NGA curatorial files), "This leaves the puzzle as to when the painting was returned to the Castle Howard collection." Constable, W. G., Canaletto: Giovanni Antonio Canal, 1697-1768, 2nd ed. revised by J. G. Links, 2 vols., Oxford, 1989: 2:nos. 40, 50, 85 [b], 154, 131, 171, 236, 334, discusses eight of the Castle Howard paintings as by Canaletto or his studio. Links, J. G., Canaletto, Oxford, 1982: 83-84, noting the uneven quality of the Castle Howard Canalettos, most of which were sold in the late 1930s or destroyed by fire in 1940, suggested that the 4th earl of Carlisle may have employed an agent other than Joseph Smith for his acquisition of paintings by the artist. "Such an agent may well have had his own sources for view paintings, but he or Lord Carlisle must have gone to Canaletto for three pictures of the collection": the Washington paintings, signed with the artist's initials, an unheard-of-practice before the 1740s, and the Boston view of the Bacino di San Marco from the Dogana, one of the artist's masterpieces.

[2] Information from the archival house lists of the collections, Castle Howard. For a resumé of the paintings formerly at Castle Howard, see Constable and Links 1989, 2: 203, and note 1. The Bacino di San Marco (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) was acquired in 1939 from Castle Howard through the intermediation of Captain J. Spink, London, who may also have been involved with the sale of the other paintings (information from the Museum of Fine Arts curatorial files).

Associated Names

Howard, 4th earl of Carlisle, Henry
Howard, 5th earl of Carlisle, Frederick
Howard, Geoffrey William Algernon, The Hon.
Hutton, Barbara, Mrs.

Exhibition History

1890: The Works of Old Masters, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1890, no. 57.

1929: Catalogue of Oil Paintings & Drawings by Antonio Canal, The Magnasco Society, Spink & Son Ltd., London, 1929, no. 12.

1982: Canaletto: Disegni, Dipinti, Incisioni, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice, 1982, no. 86.

2005: Canaletto: Il trionfo della veduta, Palazzo Giustiniani, Rome, 2005, no. 48, repro.

2010: Venice: Canaletto and His Rivals, The National Gallery, London; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2010-2011, no. 28, repro., as The Piazza San Marco and the Piazzetta, Looking Southeast (shown only in Washington).

2019: Canaletto and Venice, Palazzo Ducale, Venice, 2019.

Technical Summary

The support is a plain, loosely woven fabric of medium weight with irregular threads. The ground is a thick, reddish brown layer that strongly influences the hue of the overlying paint layer, particularly in the sky. The paint was applied in layers of varying thickness with a direct and vigorous wet-in-wet technique. The main compositional elements were blocked in with fairly thin layers. The sky was painted before the buildings and the areas for these were held in reserve to be painted later, although the textured paint of the clouds and sky extends slightly under the buildings. The upper-right corner of the Doges' Palace was extended over previously painted passages of sky. A thin dark paint was employed for some of the details, and thin layers of semitranslucent dark paint were used throughout to outline and delineate forms and details of the buildings and figures. This dark paint was applied over or around sections of more thickly applied opaque paint that had already dried somewhat, as in the filigree on the facade of San Marco and the features of the small figures. Highlights on the faces were created with dabs of pink or yellow paint. The figures were applied directly over the white linear designs in the pavement, but before the thin black lines indicating the individual paving blocks.

The tacking margins have been removed, but moderate cusping is evident along all four sides. There is a single vertical area of discrete loss at the center of the painting, corresponding to a similar loss in the companion painting; the two paintings were evidently stored face to face when the damage occurred. This damage is most severe at the left of the central flagpole on the facade of the Palazzo Ducale. Another area of damage that existed below the base of the central flagpole was heavily overpainted. The thinly painted sky (which is significantly thinner than in the pendant) is badly abraded. Discolored varnish was removed and the painting restored by Catherine Metzger in 1993.

Bibliography

1878: Duthie, John. Manuscript cataloge of the pictures at Castle Howard. 2 vols. [Pictures arranged numerically.] Castle Howard Archives Hs/I/11-12, 1878: no. 67.

1880: Duthie, John. Manuscript catalogue of the pictures at Castle Howard. 2 vols. [Pictures arranged numerically; superseded 1878 catalogue.] Castle Howard Archives H2/I/13-14, 1880: no. 60.

1905: Browning, H. Ellen. "The Canaletto Collection at Castle Howard." Art Journal 68 (1905): 340-345.

1918: Carlisle, Rosalind, 9th countess of. Manuscript catalogue of pictures at Castle Howard. Castle Howard Archives H2/I/28, 21, 1918: no. 60.

1926: Jones, Leif. Manuscript catalogue of pictures at Castle Howard. 2 vols. [Follows numbering system used in 1880 and 1918.] Castle Howard Archives H2/I/37-38, 1926: no. 60.

1927: Tipping, H. Avray. "Castle Howard-II. Yorkshire, The Seat of the Hon. Geoffrey Howard." Country Life 61 (11 June 1927): 955, fig. 16.

1927: Tipping, H. Avray. "Pictures at Castle Howard." Country Life 61 (25 June 1927): 1045, fig. 6.

1929: Constable, W. G. "Canaletto at the Magnasco Society." The Burlington Magazine 55 (July 1929): 46.

1935: Estate Duty Office File. List of Pictures. Castle Howard Archives F10/74, 2, 1935: no. 60.

1948: Parker, Karl T. The Drawings of Antonio Canaletto in the Collection of His Majesty the King at Windsor Castle. London, 1948: 34.

1954: Moschini, Vittorio. Canaletto. Milan, 1954: 30, fig. 145.

1960: Pallucchini 1960, 108, fig. 282, color pl. 19 (detail).

1962: Constable, William George. Canaletto: Giovanni Antonio Canal, 1697-1768. 2 vols. Oxford, 1962: 1:pl. 19; 2:203, no. 50.

1963: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 318, repro.

1965: Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 22.

1968: National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 15, repro.

1968: Puppi, Lionello. The Complete Paintings of Canaletto. Milan, 1968: 103, repro., no. 141.

1970: Pignatti, Terisio. Canaletto: Selected Drawings. University Park and London, 1970: n.p., note to pl. 16.

1972: Fredericksen, Burton B., and Federico Zeri. Census of Pre-Nineteenth Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections. Cambridge, Mass., 1972: 43, as by School of Canaletto.

1975: European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 52, repro.

1976: Constable and Links 1976, 1:pl. 19; 2:207-208, no. 50.

1976: Pignatti, Terisio. Antonio Canal detto Il Canaletto. Milan, 1976: 198, pl. 76.

1977: Links, J. G. Canaletto and His Patrons. London, 1977: 42, pl. 58.

1979: Shapley, Fern Rusk. Catalogue of the Italian Paintings. 2 vols. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1979: 1:101-103; 2:pl. 69.

1982: Links, J. G. Canaletto. Oxford, 1982: 83-84, pls. 74 (detail), 75.

1984: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 346, no. 478, color repro.

1985: Corboz, André. Canaletto: Una Venezia immaginaria. Catalogue compiled by Anna Tortorelo. 2 vols. Milan, 1985: 2:636, repro., no. P 249.

1985: European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 72, repro.

1989: Constable, W. G. Canaletto: Giovanni Antonio Canal, 1697-1768. 2nd edition revised by J. G. Links, reissued with supplement and additional plates. 2 vols. Oxford, 1989: 1:112-113, 165, pl. 19; 2:207-208, no. 50.

1993: Ross, Nicholas. Canaletto. London, 1993: 94, repro., as Piazza San Marco: looking Southeast.

1996: De Grazia, Diane, and Eric Garberson, with Edgar Peters Bowron, Peter M. Lukehart, and Mitchell Merling. Italian Paintings of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1996: 24-31, color repro. 26.

1997: Gebhardt, Volker. Kunstgeschichte Malerei, 1997, no. 136, repro.

2004: Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 239, no. 190, color repro.

2014: Brown, David Alan. The Secret of the Gondola. Milan, 2014: 10-12, 15, 16, 34, color plates 2-7.