Artwork
The Campo di SS. Giovanni e Paolo, Venice
The Campo di SS. Giovanni e Paolo, Venice is an oil painting by the Baroque artist Bernardo Bellotto. It dates from 1745 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
Executed in 1745, this work is an oil painting on canvas. The support measures 70.8 cm in height and 111 cm in width. As a product of Bernardo Bellotto's early maturity, the piece employs the artist's characteristic medium of oil paint applied to a woven canvas ground, a standard practice for his large-scale Venetian views. The work later entered the National Gallery of Art collection.
History & Provenance
Marmaduke Constable-Maxwell of Terregles, Dumfriesshire, who sold it at Christie's in London on 1 March 1873.
Bernardo Bellotto created the oil painting The Campo di SS. Giovanni e Paolo, Venice in 1745. The work's documented ownership begins with the Hon. Marmaduke Constable-Maxwell of Terregles, Dumfriesshire, who sold it at Christie's in London on 1 March 1873.
It was purchased by William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley, for the sum of 3,360 pounds. Following the Earl's death, the painting was sold again at Christie's on 25 June 1892. It was acquired by the London dealer Agnew's, who sold it later that same year to Peter A.B. Widener of Lynnewood Hall, Pennsylvania.
The painting eventually entered the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1942 as a gift from the Estate of Peter A.B. Widener through the power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener. The accession number is 1942.9.22.
Overview
Bernardo Bellotto’s oil on canvas, dated 1745, depicts a tranquil Venetian street leading toward the imposing façade of the Campo di Santi Giovanni e Paolo. The composition balances the open sky with the solid architecture, creating a serene urban landscape that reflects the city’s characteristic calm.
Subject & Meaning
The scene captures a quiet thoroughfare framed by the towering church, its stone carvings rendered with meticulous care. By focusing on everyday activity, or the lack thereof, the work suggests a moment of pause within the bustling life of Venice, inviting contemplation of the city’s architectural grandeur.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Bernardo Bellotto, was an Italian urban landscape painter or vedutista, and printmaker in etching famous for his vedute of European cities – Dresden, Vienna, Turin, and Warsaw.
View between the Giudecca and San Giorgio Maggiore
View of the Grand Canal near Cà Pesaro
The Molo in Front of the Doge's Palace in Venice
Il Canal Grande a palazzo Grimani, verso il ponte di Rialto
Grand Canal with the Rialto Bridge, Venice
The Grand Canal in Venice from Palazzo Flangini to Campo San Marcuola
View of the Grand Canal toward the Punta della Dogana
L’isola della Giudecca con le chiese delle Zitelle e del redentore
Santa Maria della Salute
View on the Cannaregio Canal, Venice