Sex, beauty, money, excitement and endless parties
Jul 3, 2013 0:55:05 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2013 0:55:05 GMT -5
Good morning to you all! I trust that all is well with you this summer. A good rough test of the 'efficacy' of 'art', in my opinion, is the extent to which it reconciles us with life. This is likely to vary, according to individual and collective tastes, but the National Gallery, I suspect, can help, on occasion. Robert has organised a series of superb guided tours of the National Gallery Collection, and in July, London's Cultureseekers are heading for Pietro Longhi's and Canaletto's Venice: a city for pleasure seekers as much as for culture seekers!
London Cultureseekers Group - National Gallery Guided Tour - Part 4: 'Canaleto & Pietro Longhi' (7:15pm)
Of course, as usual, the tour is oversubscribed, and I would not necessarily recommend that you gatecrash it, but the best insight into Enlightenment Venice is arguably not through Canaletto's work but that of his contemporary, Pietro Longhi. He recorded, not the formal views and processions of Venice but the everyday life of its aristocracy – the gambling houses, the music lessons, the masked parties, flirtations, and visits to the tailor. He was the city's Hogarth, and it is no accident that these were the pictures bought by Venetians and which, for the most part, remain in the city.
The National Gallery has five Longhis – including his 'A Lady Receiving a Cavalier', and picture of the masked aristocrats visiting a rhinoceros called 'Exhibition of a Rhinoceros at Venice'. But if you want to see more, and get a real feel for Venice at the peak of its pleasures, you will want to visit the place for yourself. It is, in many ways, still the most beautiful city on Earth! Here is how to find Canaletto's – and Longhi's – Venice.
The Daily Telegraph - Canaletto's Venice: a city for pleasure seekers
London Cultureseekers Group - National Gallery Guided Tour - Part 4: 'Canaleto & Pietro Longhi' (7:15pm)
Of course, as usual, the tour is oversubscribed, and I would not necessarily recommend that you gatecrash it, but the best insight into Enlightenment Venice is arguably not through Canaletto's work but that of his contemporary, Pietro Longhi. He recorded, not the formal views and processions of Venice but the everyday life of its aristocracy – the gambling houses, the music lessons, the masked parties, flirtations, and visits to the tailor. He was the city's Hogarth, and it is no accident that these were the pictures bought by Venetians and which, for the most part, remain in the city.
The National Gallery has five Longhis – including his 'A Lady Receiving a Cavalier', and picture of the masked aristocrats visiting a rhinoceros called 'Exhibition of a Rhinoceros at Venice'. But if you want to see more, and get a real feel for Venice at the peak of its pleasures, you will want to visit the place for yourself. It is, in many ways, still the most beautiful city on Earth! Here is how to find Canaletto's – and Longhi's – Venice.
The Daily Telegraph - Canaletto's Venice: a city for pleasure seekers
