Folio Archives 82: Canaletto : Paintings, Drawings and Etchings by Gregory Martin 1967
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1wcarter
Canaletto : Paintings, Drawings and Etchings by Gregory Martin 1967
I have a large collection of art books, but by far, my favourite artist is Canaletto, and in 1967 the Folio Society presentation book was a delightful collection of his paintings and drawings.
Several other presentation volumes in the 1960s were produced in a similar format including Regency England, Renoir, Albrecht Dürer and London 1851 (reviewed here.).
Canaletto painted and drew extraordinarily intricate and detailed scenes in Venice (his home), Rome and England (where he was temporarily exiled). The scenes are enlivened by the people in them who are going about their everyday occupations – a mother rescues her fallen child, a dog scratches its ear, gondoliers argue, businessmen confer, children chase each other – you can almost feel you are back in the period this art was produced between 1725 and 1760. His oeuvre was huge, with more than 500 known art works.
Other than the list of plates and acknowledgements, there are only 6 pages of text in the book, which briefly describe Canaletto’s life, his painting style and his drawings. The rest of the book consists of 62 plates, 32 of them in colour.
The landscape format book is unprepossessing in appearance, and was originally covered with a glassine wrapper (not a slipcase) which has long since crumbled and torn away, which is no loss, as the glassins adds nothing to a book of this style. It is quarter bound in black cloth with a gilt spine title running from bottom to top, and the dark blue front board is embossed with Canaletto. It is 21.5x29.3cm. in size.
Pen and ink sketch for the painting above
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
I have a large collection of art books, but by far, my favourite artist is Canaletto, and in 1967 the Folio Society presentation book was a delightful collection of his paintings and drawings.
Several other presentation volumes in the 1960s were produced in a similar format including Regency England, Renoir, Albrecht Dürer and London 1851 (reviewed here.).
Canaletto painted and drew extraordinarily intricate and detailed scenes in Venice (his home), Rome and England (where he was temporarily exiled). The scenes are enlivened by the people in them who are going about their everyday occupations – a mother rescues her fallen child, a dog scratches its ear, gondoliers argue, businessmen confer, children chase each other – you can almost feel you are back in the period this art was produced between 1725 and 1760. His oeuvre was huge, with more than 500 known art works.
Other than the list of plates and acknowledgements, there are only 6 pages of text in the book, which briefly describe Canaletto’s life, his painting style and his drawings. The rest of the book consists of 62 plates, 32 of them in colour.
The landscape format book is unprepossessing in appearance, and was originally covered with a glassine wrapper (not a slipcase) which has long since crumbled and torn away, which is no loss, as the glassins adds nothing to a book of this style. It is quarter bound in black cloth with a gilt spine title running from bottom to top, and the dark blue front board is embossed with Canaletto. It is 21.5x29.3cm. in size.
Pen and ink sketch for the painting above
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
3elenchus
I infer you were already an aficionado of Canaletto when you acquired this presentation volume, or were you converted based upon this?
4wcarter
>3 elenchus:
I have loved Canaletto’s work for decades. I only purchased this book a few months ago.
I have loved Canaletto’s work for decades. I only purchased this book a few months ago.
