ANTONIO CANALETTO
(1697-1768)
Le Portique à la Lanterne
1741
Etching
29.8 x 43.4
P.521
When working as a printmaker, Canaletto tended to etch the whole design during the first bite and then revisit the plate to heighten areas of tone and detail during subsequent proofs. His earliest etching, Landscape with woman at a well, was little more than an etched drawing, however, as his confidence and skill grew his later plates developed a far greater tonal range, allied to an extensive range of marks. La Portique à la Lanterne shows the development of this ability and his confidence with the medium, allied to the required patience needed to undertake the laborious reworking of the plate to achieve the desired outcome in terms of tonality and detail. Within La Portique à la Lanterne there are several differences between the first and second states, most notably the raising of the roof of the Temple on the extreme right. In the first version, the stalks hanging down from the beam (on the right) are in perfect silhouette; in the second state (as here), they are in front of the roof. Canaletto may also have employed a more painterly approach by using stopping-out varnish to provide highlights in the grass towards the front of the picture.
Copyright © Trustees of Cecil Higgins Art Gallery, Bedford.
Extract taken from Prints, Cecil Higgins Art Gallery .