The View Painter & the Eighteenth Century. 7

Guardi

Francesco Guardi (1712-93) is the most famous Italian painter of views after Canaletto. Like his famous countryman, Guardi is renowned for his views of Venice, though he also created works on other subjects, and only turned to view painting after the death of his brother Gianantonio (1699-1760). Guardi came from a family studio, of which his brother was head. Though he worked hard, Guardi wasn’t really successful in “wordly terms” unlike Canaletto who attracted the attention of foreign visitors, and Guardi died in poverty.¹ Guardi’s method was to borrow from the compositions of other painters, and it was only the quality of his painting that put him above the mediocre category. Unfortunately, Guardi’s fame was posthumous, only really becoming appreciated during the Impressionist period when his works were admired for their spontaneity, spirits and vivacity contrary to Canaletto’s, though Turner admired some of his paintings. Quite popular, Guardi’s art is found in many major museums where its proto-impressionism finds favour with modern audiences.

1The Oxford Dictionary of Art, 224.