The Riva degli Schiavoni Seen from the Market at the Pier
after 1755
Medium
Pen and iron-gall ink and brush and gray wash, over traces of graphite, on off-white laid paper, laid down on cream laid laminated card
Dimensions
35.3 × 24 cm (13 15/16 × 9 1/2 in.)
Classification
drawings (visual works)
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
202288
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Cetto, working in Venice after 1755, produced drawings such as this one to supply precise records of the city’s public waterfronts for travelers and collectors who wanted lasting images of familiar places. The tall column at the right edge of the sheet sets the scale for everything else, its vertical mass pushing the open sky forward while the market activity spreads horizontally across the pavement below. The gray wash softens the distance between the ornate palace on the left and the smaller structures beyond, so the eye moves from crowded foreground to hazy horizon without a sharp break. Made with pen and iron-gall ink and brush and gray wash over traces of graphite on off-white laid paper, the drawing is now at the Art Institute of Chicago. Look at the cluster of figures seated and standing directly at the column’s base, where quick lines suggest the ordinary exchanges of the pier without spelling out any single transaction.
About the Artist
Canaletto · 1697–1768
The most famous view-painter of the 18th century, Canaletto's works are characteristically topographically correct with smooth, precise handling. His patrons were primarily English collectors.