"THE RIO DEI MENDICANTI" VENICE (after) Canaletto. New Entry

Painting - Oil on canvas (240 x 145) Artwork freely interpreted from Canaletto by an anonymous painter from the late 19th Century with great pictorial quality, colorism, and perspective technique. Perfect state of preservation. Spectacular decorative effect for a full wall. History of the painting This painting of the Rio dei Mendicanti depicts the canal that connects the Fondamente Nove to Campo San Giovanni e Paolo, in front of the Ponte Cavallo, which can be seen in outline at the bottom. The Rio dei Mendicanti corresponds to the border between the sestieri (districts) of Castello (left) and Cannaregio (right). This canvas was painted from the top of the Ponte dei Mendicanti, which runs along the banks of the Fondamente Nove. Here we are far from the Grand Canal and its rich and imposing palaces. Canaletto wanted to paint "his" city, the so-called 'minor' Venice, that of the Venetians “au naturel” in their domestic life. And as such, everything is there, from the shipyard workers launching a gondola, to the gossip on the bridge, to the beggar, to the old man leaning against the wall, to the housewife at the window shaking her broom, to the laundry drying in the wind on and between the facades and even on the "Altanes" (wooden terraces on the roofs of Venetian houses). On the left bank, you can see part of the facade of the church of San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti adjacent to the convent of the Mendicanti, all ending with the Scuola Grande di San Marco, which can be seen topped by sculptures in front of Campo San Giovanni e Paolo (in Castello in Venice). Apart from the large building and the wooden bridge that connected it to the left bank, everything has remained the same, including the "Squero", a shipyard that later became a nautical club. Also noteworthy here is the treatment of perspective, without vanishing points in the background: we enter the painting without "sinking", which helps us to read it more easily, without the eye being dragged into "a corridor". To the usual view painting repertoire, centered around Piazza San Marco, the artist adds unpublished shots, dedicated to the lesser-known corners of Venice. This is the case of the Rio dei Mendicanti, where the painter focuses his attention on a popular area, described in all its humble beauty. Canaletto sediments in the composition an unprecedented thickness of truth, obtained through an extraordinary use of light that bursts into the scene illuminating and making even the smallest element distinctly perceptible. This effect is achieved by exhibiting, almost brazenly, the signs of the pictorial operation: full-bodied and frayed brushstrokes that offer the viewer a concrete image of the city. This painting shows the genuine daily life of Venetians, with scenes that can still be seen today in same place. The positioning of the painter's eye and ours is also intelligent to achieve this result: we are perfectly horizontal, the view does not dive or rise; it is one of Canaletto's peculiar techniques. The beauty of the daily life of Venetians as seen by Canaletto There is nothing impressive in this painting at the architectural level. Apart from the small facade of the church of San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti and a slight sketch of the rear of the facade of the Scuola Grande di San Marco, it is the simple and hard-working Venice that is presented here. And yet, it is a superb painting, pleasing to the eye, full of poetry and life. Here beauty is found in authenticity, we would only need the sound to hear the chatter, the noise of the oars, the "music" of this slice of daily life in the neighborhood. Canaletto does not use any artifice; architecture disappears for the benefit of man. Venice: late nineteenth century Measurements; width cm. 240 height cm. 145