|
His
patrons were chiefly English collectors, for
whom he sometimes produced series of views in
uniform size. Conspicuous among them was Joseph
Smith, a merchant, appointed British Consul
in Venice in 1744. It was perhaps at his instance
that Canaletto enlarged his repertory in the
1740s to include subjects from the Venetian
mainland and from Rome (probably based on drawings
made during his visit as a young man), and by
producing numerous capricci.
He also gave increased attention to the graphic
arts, making a remarkable series of etchings,
and many drawings in pen, and pen and wash,
as independent works of art and not as preparation
for paintings. Meanwhile, in his painting there
was an increase in an already well-established
tendency to become stylized and mechanical in
handling. He often used the camera obscura as
an aid to composition. In 1746 he went to England,
evidently at the suggestion of Jacopo Amigoni
(the War of the Austrian Succession drastically
curtailed foreign travel, and Canaletto's tourist
trade in Venice had dried up).
|
