Canaletto Visual Devices Essay
John Doe
Dr. Paula Radisich
ART 206, TR 11:00-12:20
Spatial Devices
The Piazzetta, Venice, Looking North
(Early 1730s, Oil on Canvas)
It is blaringly obvious after just a glance that Canaletto is a master painter and has a particular gift when it comes to creating an illusion of the third-dimension through the spatial devices he employs when painting. First and foremost everything in the piece is appropriately set to scale this can be seen on the right side of the work in the front where you can see a white dog, a person to its right and a building behind them. The next device that is done masterfully is that of the overlapping of objects and elements in the work. There are countless overlapping elements throughout this piece, such …show more content…
as the buildings and more importantly the people that are placed in the plaza going about their daily business and duties. One of the most effective devices used in this piece is foreshortening, Canaletto beautifully foreshortens his objects consistently over the entire painting. Examples of this can be seen on the two buildings in the foreground on both the left and right sides of the canvas, another decent example is the right side of the tower. The side of the tower is foreshortened to make it appear as if it is traveling backwards further into the piece.
While these aforementioned elements provide the framework for the piece without the expert use of shading/modeling, atmospheric perspective and scientific perspective the painting can still feel flat and rather two-dimensional.
The most important of these spatial devices for this painting are shading and modeling. Canaletto does an incredible job of creating depth through his manipulation of value. He creates the illusion of elements being round and having depth by playing with highlights and shadows, this can be seen on the left side of the work in the individual alcoves present on the building in the foreground. Next device that I found to be in use is scientific perspective. I see a consistent and deliberate use of scientific perspective throughout the painting, particularly in regards to the buildings and the plaza area alike. All of their orthogonals lead towards a common vanishing point (appearing to be located at the circular window on the front of the building in the background, central right side). I don’t see a utilization of atmospheric perspective, the people near the horizon do not seem to blur all that much (only the people in the shadow are drastically blurred) and the sky appears to go from white to blue instead of blue to white which is commonly associated with atmospheric
perspective.
Through the masterful use of these spatial devices, Canaletto has managed to create an illusion of a giant plaza (deep space) and captures a community in the process. This truly is one of those great works of art that act as a sort of time machine transporting the viewer to Venice in the early 1730s.
Dr. Paula Radisich
ART 206, TR 11:00-12:20
Spatial Devices
The Piazzetta, Venice, Looking North
(Early 1730s, Oil on Canvas)
It is blaringly obvious after just a glance that Canaletto is a master painter and has a particular gift when it comes to creating an illusion of the third-dimension through the spatial devices he employs when painting. First and foremost everything in the piece is appropriately set to scale this can be seen on the right side of the work in the front where you can see a white dog, a person to its right and a building behind them. The next device that is done masterfully is that of the overlapping of objects and elements in the work. There are countless overlapping elements throughout this piece, such …show more content…
as the buildings and more importantly the people that are placed in the plaza going about their daily business and duties. One of the most effective devices used in this piece is foreshortening, Canaletto beautifully foreshortens his objects consistently over the entire painting. Examples of this can be seen on the two buildings in the foreground on both the left and right sides of the canvas, another decent example is the right side of the tower. The side of the tower is foreshortened to make it appear as if it is traveling backwards further into the piece.
While these aforementioned elements provide the framework for the piece without the expert use of shading/modeling, atmospheric perspective and scientific perspective the painting can still feel flat and rather two-dimensional.
The most important of these spatial devices for this painting are shading and modeling. Canaletto does an incredible job of creating depth through his manipulation of value. He creates the illusion of elements being round and having depth by playing with highlights and shadows, this can be seen on the left side of the work in the individual alcoves present on the building in the foreground. Next device that I found to be in use is scientific perspective. I see a consistent and deliberate use of scientific perspective throughout the painting, particularly in regards to the buildings and the plaza area alike. All of their orthogonals lead towards a common vanishing point (appearing to be located at the circular window on the front of the building in the background, central right side). I don’t see a utilization of atmospheric perspective, the people near the horizon do not seem to blur all that much (only the people in the shadow are drastically blurred) and the sky appears to go from white to blue instead of blue to white which is commonly associated with atmospheric
perspective.
Through the masterful use of these spatial devices, Canaletto has managed to create an illusion of a giant plaza (deep space) and captures a community in the process. This truly is one of those great works of art that act as a sort of time machine transporting the viewer to Venice in the early 1730s.