Canaletto Visual Devices Essay
John Doe
Dr. Paula Radisich
ART 206, TR 11:00-12:20
Spatial Devices
The Piazzetta, Venice, Looking North
(Early 1730s, Oil on Canvas)
It is blaringly obvious after just a glance that Canaletto is a master painter and has a particular gift when it comes to creating an illusion of the third-dimension through the spatial devices he employs when painting. First and foremost everything in the piece is appropriately set to scale this can be seen on the right side of the work in the front where you can see a white dog, a person to its right and a building behind them. The next device that is done masterfully is that of the overlapping of objects and elements in the work. There are countless overlapping elements throughout this piece, such …show more content…
The most important of these spatial devices for this painting are shading and modeling. Canaletto does an incredible job of creating depth through his manipulation of value. He creates the illusion of elements being round and having depth by playing with highlights and shadows, this can be seen on the left side of the work in the individual alcoves present on the building in the foreground. Next device that I found to be in use is scientific perspective. I see a consistent and deliberate use of scientific perspective throughout the painting, particularly in regards to the buildings and the plaza area alike. All of their orthogonals lead towards a common vanishing point (appearing to be located at the circular window on the front of the building in the background, central right side). I don’t see a utilization of atmospheric perspective, the people near the horizon do not seem to blur all that much (only the people in the shadow are drastically blurred) and the sky appears to go from white to blue instead of blue to white which is commonly associated with atmospheric
Dr. Paula Radisich
ART 206, TR 11:00-12:20
Spatial Devices
The Piazzetta, Venice, Looking North
(Early 1730s, Oil on Canvas)
It is blaringly obvious after just a glance that Canaletto is a master painter and has a particular gift when it comes to creating an illusion of the third-dimension through the spatial devices he employs when painting. First and foremost everything in the piece is appropriately set to scale this can be seen on the right side of the work in the front where you can see a white dog, a person to its right and a building behind them. The next device that is done masterfully is that of the overlapping of objects and elements in the work. There are countless overlapping elements throughout this piece, such …show more content…
The most important of these spatial devices for this painting are shading and modeling. Canaletto does an incredible job of creating depth through his manipulation of value. He creates the illusion of elements being round and having depth by playing with highlights and shadows, this can be seen on the left side of the work in the individual alcoves present on the building in the foreground. Next device that I found to be in use is scientific perspective. I see a consistent and deliberate use of scientific perspective throughout the painting, particularly in regards to the buildings and the plaza area alike. All of their orthogonals lead towards a common vanishing point (appearing to be located at the circular window on the front of the building in the background, central right side). I don’t see a utilization of atmospheric perspective, the people near the horizon do not seem to blur all that much (only the people in the shadow are drastically blurred) and the sky appears to go from white to blue instead of blue to white which is commonly associated with atmospheric