Venice Veduta 

Bernardo Bellotto captured this bustling Venice cityscape using oil paint, a medium which by the 18th century was central to European art. Bellotto’s technical skill is evident in the way he renders the scene, with attention to the surface textures of stone and water, and the effects of light. But the material qualities of paint also point to the complex economics of artistic production. Each pigment had its own cost, depending on its rarity. The ultramarine blue of the sky, for example, would have been the most expensive as it was made from ground lapis lazuli from mines in Afghanistan. Consider too the labour involved, not only Bellotto’s own, but that of the craftsmen who prepared his canvases, the suppliers of his brushes and pigments, all of which were enmeshed in the city’s economy. By understanding the material basis of this painting, we recognize it not just as a beautiful image, but also as a product of Venice’s global trade networks, and a testament to the many hands that contributed to its creation.