Whereas Florentine painting and sculpture might be said to be for the mind, Venetian painting is best described as art for the emotions. We will explore the works of the master painters Giovanni Bellini, Giorgio and Vittore Carpaccio, Tintoretto, Veronese, Lotto and Carreira, and Tiepolo. Venice benefited from its location, its lagoon, trade with the near East, naval prowess, independence, wealth, and its confraternities. Instructor Justin Newell is an art historian and artist, and has lectured extensively on Western painting, sculpture and architecture, weaving his knowledge of history, art, and political events into his presentations. He also leads art history tours to Venice, Florence, Rome, Paris, London and other art centres of the world.
The Painters
Lecture #1
Giovanni Bellini, who can be called the father of Renaissance Venetian painting, led the transformation of Venetian painting from the Early Renaissance to the High Renaissance. We’ll look at his work at length. In his workshop he trained a number of artists who went on to become major masters including Giorgione and Titian.
Lecture #2
Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio a.k.a. TITIAN. The acknowledge king of Venetian painting, sought by Venetian patrons and Northern European princes, the Habsburgs and the Papacy.“In 1590, the art theorist Giovanni Lomazzo declared him “the sun amidst small stars not only among the Italians but all the painters of the world.”We’ll look at many of his important works including The Venus of Urbino and the Poesie created for the Spanish Court
Lecture #3
Jacopo Robusti a.k.a. Tintoretto. A unique painter who shook up Venetian painting. Some loathe his style, others appreciated. A shrewd gift to the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, gained him the most important commission of his career. We’ll look at the work in depth. Tintoretto also contributed works to the Ducal Palace which suffered fires and required the replacement of lost works originally created by other artists.
Lecture #4
Paolo Caliari a.k.a. Paolo Veronese. Venice was awash with major painters during the 1500s and competition was fierce. Veronese, born in Verona hence the nickname, chose to flatter the Venetian, unlike Tintoretto. Veronese’s world is populated with beautiful people, elegantly dressed in elegant settings. Veronese. His style is easily recognizable in works by later Venetian and foreign painters.
Lecture #5
Antonio Canal a.k.a. Canaletto, Francesco Guardi, and Bernardo Bellotto. A family of painters whose names are synonymous with Venice. Using the Camera Oscura, Canaletto created the Vedute [views] of Venice so much admired and collected by foreigners who visited Venice on the Grand Tour, especially wealthy English aristocrats. His brother-in-law, Francesco Guardi, like Canaletto, painted Vedute of Venice and numerous paintings of group settings, especially of events in the Ducal Palace.
Bernardo Belloto, Canaletto’s nephew, trained under him, also created Vedute, and eventually moved to Dresden. His Vedute of Dresden’s architecture, created using the Camera Oscura, were used in post World War II to rebuild the city.
Lecture #6
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and his son Domenico Tiepolo. Giovanni Battista was the leading painter of his time and with Domenico’s assistance decorated numerous Palazzi and Ville in Venice and the region respectively and churches. His reputation were firmly established throughout Europe - he was called to
Würzburg by Prince-Bishop Karl Philipp von Greifenclau zu Vollraths to decorate ceilings in the New Residenz. We'll look at Tiepolo's works at length.