From Tiepolo to Canaletto and Guardi

Venetian school that at the time of the Renaissance, was known for masters like Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese, is experiencing a new heyday in 18th century. Venice became an important center of European artistic life, which left its mark in paintings of that period, distinguishable by their full rich colours, their more decorative aspect and a multitude of genres.

The spirit of Venice of that time is said to be truly captured by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770) — one of the biggest Italian painters of the 18th century. His works largely follow the technique of Paolo Veronese, said to be the last baroque master in European art. Tiepolo's paintings and monumental murals are known for their strong emotions, dynamic compositions and rich colours.

In 18th century Venice, a particular type of cityscape paintings was born — "veduta". It is claimed that it started with works of a lesser known to the public painter, Luca Carlevarijs (1663-1730), whose works would be exhibited. This type of cityscape got its true fame with the paintings of Antonio Canaletto (1697-1768) who managed to capture unique atmosphere and feel of Venice — its day-to-day life and celebrations. However, unlike Canaletto, Francesco Guardi (1712-1793) saw the city of Venice differently. His goal was not to capture the city down to the detail, he was creating a poetic picturesque fantasies, mixing and matching real motives and fiction. This kind of scenery gained a name "capriccio".

Venetian life of 18th century was also praised in the works of genre painting master Pietro Longhi (1702-1785). Sketches of life as it is with its secret rendez-vous, games or amusing street scenes, became his main theme in his works.

Masters who brought fame to the Venetian school, did not always live and work in the capitol, more often than not, they painted in small cities in the region. Among these towns, most notable is Vicenza or the "city of Palladio" after Andrea Palladio, a famous Italian architect. He was born in 16th century, Padua, but his most significant architectural legacy is in Vicenza. One of the his masterpieces is Palazzo Chiericati, which is today a civic museum of Vicenza that is kind enough to advance pieces from its collection to our exhibition in The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. Works from another museum in Vicenza — Palazzo Leoni Montanari (Gallerie d'Italia), housing Venitian art from 18th century from the collection of Intesa Sanpaolo — visitors could also see at our exposition.

At the exhibition of The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts works of Italian painters from different collections would complement each other: a famous piece of Canaletto "The Bucintore Returning to the Molo on Ascension Day" and other two works of this master, belonging to The Pushkin Museum will become a great addition in Vicenza, where his works are largely missing (in Venice itself, only few could be found). Moreover, several pieces of Bernardo Bellotto, nephew of Canaletto, are also present in our collection, but are missing in Vicenza. That being said, works of such painters as Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, author of "Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy," are not present in Russia, but would be on display at the exhibition. Works of Pietro Longhi, genre painter, are also lesser known by Russian public. His comparatively smaller paintings full of subtle humour give a glimpse into lives of Venetian aristocracy. In addition, works of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, one of the greatest masters of 18th century European art and pride of Russian and Italian museums, would also be on the display. Thus, his works would be shown in their wide thematic spectrum along different genres, from allegorical decorative ceiling piece on the theme of "Time showing the Truth" (Palazzo Chiericati, Vicenza) to works for church's altars and smaller easel painting for private customers, most notable among which is "The Death of Dido" (The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts). Chronologically completing the exhibition would be several capriccio-landscapes of Francesco Guardi, who left after himself the depiction of incredible awe-inspiring Venice — magnificent city on the lagoon.

Marina Loshak, Director of The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts:
"The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts is working closely for many years with Italian museums, giving us an amazing opportunity to organise exhibitions of Italian art on the highest level. Director of Vicenza Art Museum, professor Giovanni Villa was impressed by the premium quality of Italian paintings from the holdings of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts and proposed to organise a joint exhibition to bring together masterpieces from Italian and Russian collections. This project is an important step in bringing our partnership with the Italian museums closer. The exhibition will be executed in two steps: the first exhibition will be held in Moscow and then it will travel to Vicenza".