Art History (Lesson 19/4):Rococo/Giambattista Tiepolo,Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal)
Emerging in about 1700, the Rococo style dominated European art for most of the 18th century. Superseding the Baroque movement, it emphasized elegance, frivolity, and decorative charm. The greatest Rococo painters were Giambattista Tiepolo, Jean-Antoine Watteau and Francois Boucher. The word “Rococo” is thought to derive from rocaille, a French word describing an ornamental form of rock- work that uses shells and pebbles to adorn fountains and grottoes. This seems to have been combined with barocco, a source-word for Baroque (see p. 194). Origins and influences The term Rococo is said to have been coined by one of David's pupils, shortly after the French Revolution. It was meant as a humorous insult, mocking the supposed triviality of the florid, aristocratic style. It remained a pejorative term throughout the first half of the 19th century, but is now free from any negative connotations. The Rococo style had a major impact on architecture, interior design, and the decorative arts, as well as painting it developed initially in France, but eventually spread to most other parts of Europe, either by engravings or by expatriate French artists. Subject matter Rococo painters retained many of the themes that had been in vogue during the Baroque era, but treated them ina lighter, more playful manner. Symbolic and mythological subjects were still in demand, but they lost much of their serious content. In many cases, they simply provided a pretext for tastefully erotic depictions of the female nude. Amorous themes were especially popular. Watteau pioneered the féte galante, a new type of subject in which elegant young couples, dressed in rich attire, wandered blissfully.
Gian Battista Tiepolo. B. Venice, 1696. D. Madrid, 1770.
Tiepolo was the finest Italian artist of the Rococo era and the last great master of his
country's fresco tradition. He was apprenticed to Gregorio Lazzarini, a minor history painter,
but learned far more from the examples of Piazzetta and Veronese. Tiepolo's first
major commission came from the Dolphin family, who hired to paint the frescoes in the Archbishop's
Palace in Udina. This work helped him to secure a string of other fresco commissions,
although he never restricted himself to this field, as his powerful canvases for the Church of S.
Alvis and Venice confirm. Tiepolo's great skill lay in his ability to depict huge,
illusionistic scenes with immense verve and imagination that is best seen in his masterpiece,
The Decorations of the Residence, Palace, in Würzburg.
Lifeline. 1696. Born in Venice, the son of a shipping merchant, 1719. Marries Cecilia Guardi.
1728. Completes his first major fresco cycle at Udina. C. 1740. Paints his finest religious
pictures for the Church of S. Alvis. Venice. 1750. Begins work on his masterpiece,
at the Residence in Würzburg. 1762. Moves to Madrid. To work in the Royal Palace. 1770. Dies
in Madrid. Apollo conducting Beatrice of Burgundy to Frederick Barbarossa. Detail. His grandiose
allegorical vision is part of Tiepolo's most important cycle of decorations, produced for
the Kaisersaal, Imperial Hall, of the Palace of Wyersburg's powerful Prince-Bishop. 1751.
Sealing fresco. Approximate 9x18m. Residence. Würzburg. Germany. Closer Ajok.
Imperial splendor in Tiepolo's hands, an obscure historical event, the marriage of the 12th century
German ruler Frederick Barbarossa to Beatrice of Burgundy, is given mythic status. Beatrice is
transported to her groom in Apollo's mighty horse-drawn chariot, with the emblems of love,
cupids and doves, swarming around her. The road to Calvary in this moving biblical scene,
Christ has collapsed under the weight of the cross. On the left, the two thieves look on
with brute compassion while, opposite them, St. Veronica holds her veil, on which Christ's
features were miraculously imprinted when she wiped the sweat from his face.
Oil on canvas. 450x517cm. S. Alvise, Venice, Italy. Neptune offering gifts to Venice this
magnificent allegory, commissioned by the Venetian Republic, emphasized Thessaly's
commercial and maritime power. C1745-50. Oil on canvas. 135x275cm. Palazzo Ducale,
Venice, Italy. Young woman with a parrot in this fine example of Tiepolo's portraiture,
the woman was probably meant to be an allegorical figure representing summer.
The model may have been one of his daughters. C1758-60. Oil on canvas. 70x52cm. Ashmolean,
Oxford, UK. Tiepolo has been made expressly for us. He is full of spirit. Of an infinite
fire and astonishing. Coloring and in amazing speed. He paints a picture in less time than
it takes another to grind his colors. Countessent to the King of Sweden, who tried to secure
Tiepolo's services. Canaletto, Giovanni Antonio Canal. B. Venice, 1697. D. Venice, 1768.
Canaletto is renowned, above all, for his superlative views of the city of Venice.
He was trained by his father, a theatrical scene painter, and spent the initial years of his career
assisting him on sets for Scarlatti and Vivaldi operas. By the early 1720s, Canaletto had turned
his attention to topographical views. Venice itself could be compared to a gigantic stage set,
and he spared no effort in capturing its drama and spectacle. From the outset, his chief clients
were English aristocrats, visiting the city as part of their grand tour. Canaletto geared his
pictures specifically towards these buyers, providing them with exquisite souvenirs of
their stay. He painted the obvious tourist sites, such as St. Mark's Square and the Grand Canal,
as well as the most colorful festivals, the Carnival, the Regatta, the Ascension Day
celebrations. Accuracy and detail were strong selling points, so Canaletto made them the basis
of his style. He is thought to have used a camera obscura, see page 239, as a drawing aid, but he
also made countless sketches of the city to ensure his work remained fresh. In the 1740s, the War of
the Austrian Succession had a drastic effect on tourism in Venice, so Canaletto decided to pursue
his career in England. His approach remained remarkably similar, particularly in his scenes
of the River Thames. Increasingly though, his style was criticized for being too mechanical
and there were even rumors that he was an imposter. Canaletto himself never regained his
former popularity, but his pictures were still widely imitated. Lifeline. 1697 born in Venice,
the son of a theatrical scene painter, 1719 travels to Rome to design opera sets, see 1727
paints the stonemason's yard, 1735 engravings of his work appear in the Prospectus Magni Canalis
Venetiaftim, 1740-48 the War of the Austrian Succession affects his business, 1744 Canaletto's
agent, Joseph Smith, becomes British Consul in Venice, 1746 decides to work in England,
1755 returns to Venice, 1762 Joseph Smith sells his art collection to George III,
1763 Canaletto I selected to the Venetian Academy, 1768 dies in Venice, is buried in the Church of S.
Leo. Vecino di San Marco Canaletto exaggerated when necessary. Here, he used two different
viewpoints in order to make this panorama as spectacular as possible, see 1735 oil on canvas,
125 by 205 centimeters, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, US. The stonemason's yard in visual picture,
Canaletto presents a charming scene of everyday life in Venice, a mother runs to her fallen child
while another woman draws water from a well, see 1727 oil on canvas, 124 by 163 centimeters,
National Gallery, London, UK. The famous painter of views, Canaletto of Venice, has procured a
great reputation and his great merit and excellence in that way, is much esteemed, George Virtue,
1746, engraver and antiquary, return of the Bucentoro on Ascension Day here, the Doge and
his Bucentoro, state barge, casts a ring into the sea, symbolizing the city's marriage with the sea,
see 1730 oil on canvas, 182 by 259 centimeters, Aldo Crespi Collection, Milan, Italy, Westminster
Bridge, with the Lord Mayor's procession in London, Canaletto reproduced the formula that
had been so successful in his native city, here the most topical feature is Westminster Bridge,
which was under construction at the time of the painting and was only opened in 1750,
1746, oil on canvas, 96 x 138 centimeters, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut,
US. Closer look, procession the larger barges belong to the various city guilds,
Canaletto enhanced the spectacle by adding a flotilla of smaller boats, Westminster the
twin towers are those of Westminster Abbey, to the left is Westminster Hall,
where the new Lord Mayor will be sworn in,
