Clark Metzger - Art Muesum Visit

This work, The Molo, was painted by Giovanni Antonio Canal, better known as Canaletto, in 1735 using oil on canvas. Cityscapes such as this one would become Canaletto's most popular works. Canaletto realistic style used thin lines and geometric shapes and this painting was one of several that he painted of this area of Venice. This fact combined with his attention to detail makes one wonder which elements of the painting were fortunate accidents and which were deliberately included. For example, a ship's mast in the street resembles a cross being carried. Is this religious symbolism, or simply a mundane event? We can be sure that Canaletto was willing to alter the scene to fit his desires. According to the information accompanying the painting, the buildings have been altered to make the architectural elements more harmonious, allowing the lines on one building to continue onto the next. It is these lines formed by the buildings and the street that contribute the most to the linear perspective using a single vanishing point. The perspective is enhanced by the use of browns and reds in the buildings and ships against the blue sky to provide atmospheric perspective. The people are far more colorful than their surroundings, often set off with blues and reds against the gray and brown background. The scene seems almost photographic, showing figures, dwarfed by the structures around them, busy with daily activities. The figures are almost all engaged in work, even the most sedentary appearing seem to be observing their surroundings intently. Three of these figures seem to be pointing to the Column of Saint Theodore, giving it some emphasis, but this does not seem to be the primary point of interest. Looking at The Molo the eyes wonder, studying each figure, imagining them in motion while observing from atop an unseen building. The only section that seems to have been de-emphasized is the upper left portion of the sky which has been left with little detail. The eyes are drawn away from the sky by the diagonal masts of the ships. This more complex portion of the painting formed by the ships with there relatively disorganized arrangement helps to balance the larger but plainer right hand side of the painting. While the repeated windows and arches of the buildings form simple patterns, the ships in the canal, while all very similar and mostly parallel to one another, they do not have the same fixed rhythm of the buildings. The tiled street is surprising free of pattern with only a few distinct stones in the foreground that quickly become a uniform gray. The scene is lit from the left of the view point by the sun casting detailed shadows of the figures lending a greater sense of volume to their small forms which would otherwise appear quite flat compared to surrounding buildings. The shadows of objects on the other hand, such as those cast by the masts of the ships seems lighter or absent entirely.