The Italian painter Giovanni Antonio Canal, better known as Canaletto (which means “little Canal”) was born in Venice in 1687. His father was a theatre scene painter and Canaletto served his apprenticeship with him before travelling to Rome to develop his art and painting technique.
This painting is in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.
Canaletto returned to Venice in 1719 and made his living by painting grand scenes of Venice like the one above which he sold to wealthy Europeans, particularly the English, who were travelling on The Grand Tour. However, the outbreak of the War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748) meant that the wealthy English stayed away so Canaletto decided to follow his market.
Canaletto spent time in England between 1746 and 1755, mostly in London (the plaque marks where he resided in the Soho district), but at some time after 1750 he travelled out to Walton-on-Thames, Surrey to produce a painting of the new bridge across the River Thames there.
In 1747 Samuel Dicker, a wealthy Walton-on-Thames resident and landowner, obtained permission to build the bridge, primarily to facilitate his own journeys into London
It was designed by William Etheridge to consist of "timbers tangent to a circle of 100 feet diameter" and was built so that a single timber could be extracted and repaired without disturbing the rest of the bridge.
Old Walton Bridge was completed in August 1750 and acquired some fame, meriting an article in the Gentleman's Magazine, a report in Daniel Defoe's Tour in 1753, and of course the painting by Canaletto.
It was designed by William Etheridge to consist of "timbers tangent to a circle of 100 feet diameter" and was built so that a single timber could be extracted and repaired without disturbing the rest of the bridge.
Old Walton Bridge was completed in August 1750 and acquired some fame, meriting an article in the Gentleman's Magazine, a report in Daniel Defoe's Tour in 1753, and of course the painting by Canaletto.
This painting is in the Dulwich Picture Gallery, London.
Normally the figures populating Canaletto’s landscapes were anonymous, but his painting of the bridge is unusual because the identities of several of the figures are known.
In the centre of the painting, on the near bank, there are two people standing together; on the left is Thomas Hollis who commissioned the painting from Canaletto.
On the right is Thomas Brand, Hollis’ friend and heir. Further to the right, dressed in colourful livery, is Hollis' servant, Francesco Giovannini, and at the feet of Hollis is his dog, Malta.
Sitting a little distance from the group on the left, with a cow looking over his shoulder, is an artist thought to be Canaletto himself.
With storm clouds forming above the bridge, Canaletto contrasts the forces of nature with the work of engineering below; the painting is the only of his English works in which he attempts to capture the weather.
Samuel Dicker's house at Mount Felix can be seen in the rear of the picture to the left of the bridge, but missing are the extensive stone abutments and brick arches constructed across marshy ground.
Dicker commissioned a different view of the bridge from Canaletto in 1755 which shows the full extent of the bridge works for which he had paid. (See below).
Dicker commissioned a different view of the bridge from Canaletto in 1755 which shows the full extent of the bridge works for which he had paid. (See below).
This painting is in the Yale Centre for British Art, New Haven, U.S.A.
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