Northumberland House 1752

Canaletto rendered Northumberland House in paint, sometime in the 18th century. Oil paint, as a material, is all about the slow layering of strokes. Looking closely, you can see how Canaletto painstakingly built up the scene, glazing thin layers of pigment to create depth, and to capture the atmosphere of the public square. This technique required enormous patience, a virtue reflected in the painting’s remarkable detail. Consider all the skilled labor involved, not just Canaletto’s, but also the craftsmen who prepared his canvases and ground his pigments, each contributing to the painting’s facture. It also gives you a great feel for how cities themselves were constructed at this time, incrementally, and with an enormous amount of physical labor, all combining to create a scene of mercantile, urban life. By appreciating the physical processes behind the art, we appreciate the human endeavor that went into making this scene a reality.