Born this day in 1721, Bernardo Bellotto, an Italian Painter. He was from Venice and the nephew and pupil of Canaletto. He was known for his townscapes (vedute). In 1747 he left Venice for Dresden and there in 1748 was appointed court painter to Frederick Augustus 11 of Saxony; in c1758 he was at Vienna working for Empress Maria Theresa; in 1761 he was working in Munich, after which he returned for a while to Dresden, before moving in 1767 to Warsaw to work for King Stanislas Poniatowski, staying there for the remainder of his life. Outside of Italy he seems to have called himself, or allowed himself to be called, Canaletto (presumably to exploit his more famous uncles reputation), a fact which has caused considerable confusion given the close similarity between Bellottos early style (up to his departure from Italy in 1747) and that of his uncle. His later style is characterized by a cooler palette, more intense shadows, and an interest in the naturalistic depiction of cloudy skies which relates more closely to the Dutch school of painting. Most of his best work is naturally in Dresden and Warsaw and his pictures were considered to be so topographically faithful that they were used as guides for the rebuilding of the latter city after its devastation in the Second World War.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 12:31:17 +0000
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