A capriccio with San Marco in the lagoon c.1740-45
Pen and ink, over free and ruled pencil and pinpointing | 27.1 x 37.8 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 907432
-
A drawing of an invented view, known as a capriccio. On the left is a statue of a seated lion on a pedestal looking across the water to see the north end of San Marco. Several boats are shown on the lagoon.
Canaletto took the north part of the façade of San Marco, and placed it on a quay approached by wide steps, surrounded by the waters of the lagoon. One of the lions from the Piazzetta dei Leoni has been set among fragments of architecture on a rough shore in the foreground; another lion has been placed on the steps of the basilica. In the distance is a city with fanciful towers and a tiered mausoleum.
The carvings and mosaics within the entrance bays of San Marco were first drawn in some detail with a fine pen, and then overdrawn with heavy parallel hatching. This suggests either that Canaletto constructed the capriccio before he added the heavy shading, or that the drawing depends on some outline prototype. It is unlikely that such an efficient artist as Canaletto would have troubled to draw such detail while intending to obliterate it with heavy hatching, and it may be that the outline stage represented a first phase, followed after some time by heavy hatching intended to articulate the drawing.
Catalogue entry adapted from Canaletto in Venice, London, 2005Provenance
Purchased by George III from Consul Joseph Smith, 1762
-
Medium and techniques
Pen and ink, over free and ruled pencil and pinpointing
Measurements
27.1 x 37.8 cm (sheet of paper)
Other number(s)
RL 7432