The Saint Mark’s Square from the Clock Tower by Canaletto

This grandiose composition is spectacularly part of the artistic Venetian vedutismo movement of the eighteenth century, characterized by its spatial fidelity. Through this remarkable masterpiece provisionally titled “The Saint Mark’s Square from the Clock Tower”, the prodigy painter Canaletto captures Saint Mark’s Square from a monumental perspective. The work bears witness to an intimate understanding of the urban landscape, capturing the grandeur of the Serenissima to charm foreign collectors.

The square unfolds in its full width under an intense and pure blue sky that occupies a large part of the canvas. On the left, the nave of the basilica raises its gothic arches and marble columns, flanked by the very tall red brick campanile. On the right side of the composition, the rhythmic facade of the Procuratie Nuove stretches in a very striking vanishing perspective. Tiny figures in traditional costumes stroll on the stone slabs, forming small colorful touches on the light ground. The bright midday light accentuates the geometric regularity and the precise shadows.

The artist deploys here an extraordinary talent in the treatment of aerial perspective and vertical light. His oil painting technique excels in rendering the monumental character of the space and the delicate finish of the marbles. It is a masterpiece of absolute rigor.