Media release: 27 July 2022
World-class collection visits Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum
- Canaletto: A Venetian’s View arrives at Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum on 1 October 2022 until 7 January 2023
- This world-class collection – on loan from the Woburn Abbey Collection – will be exhibited alongside works from Worcester’s Fine Art Collection and loans from Birmingham Museums, Tate and Compton Verney
- Tickets from £4 (children under 16 and Museum Members Free) available from museumsworcestershire.org.uk
Canaletto: A Venetian’s View arrives at Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum on 1 October until 7 January 2022. The exhibition will celebrate the wonderful work of Canaletto, featuring stunning paintings on loan from the Woburn Abbey Collection together with artworks from Worcester’s Fine Art Collection and loans from Birmingham Museums, Tate and Compton Verney.
Tickets range from Standard – £8 to Worcester residents – £4. Children up to 16 FREE and Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum Members FREE. Art Fund Members £4 and booking is via www.museumsworcestershire.org.uk
Born in Venice, Giovanni Antonio Canal (1697 – 1768), commonly known as Canaletto, was an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school. He became very popular with English collectors, and visited England repeatedly between 1746 – 56.
Canaletto revolutionised the use of colour, ground and canvas and pioneered the technique of painting from life, sitting in front of the subject outdoors as opposed to his contemporaries who completed paintings in the studio. This exhibition explores Canaletto’s work and the impact he had on the generations of artists who followed him.
It is extremely rare for this hugely significant collection to leave Woburn Abbey, and this will be the first time the paintings will be united with other examples of Canaletto’s work from Birmingham Museums and Compton Verney. The paintings on display comprise the largest set of paintings Canaletto produced for a single patron, the fourth Duke of Bedford who commissioned the works in the 1730s. They are considered the absolute best of Canaletto’s paintings of Venice. The exhibition is being described as the most ambitious in the history of Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum.
Deborah Fox, Senior Curator at the Art Gallery and Museum commented: “We are committed to bringing great art and artists to the region and through bringing Canaletto to Worcester we are offering a once in a generation opportunity to see these incredible artworks ‘on your doorstep’ as well as creating an opportunity to showcase and reinterpret important works in our own collection.
“We see this exhibition as a wonderful opportunity not only to bring world class art to the gallery, but also to examine its influence on some of Worcester’s best-loved artworks.”
The 20 paintings of Venice on loan from the Woburn Abbey Collection will be accompanied by 3 Canaletto works – two views of Warwick Castle on loan from Birmingham Museums and a view of Vauxhall Gardens which would normally hang at Compton Verney, as well as a wonderful work by William Marlow considered to be Canaletto’s natural heir, from Tate.
The influence of Canaletto’s work will be further explored through Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum’s own collection including a beautiful view of Worcester Cathedral by Marlow and works by Paul Sandby, Samuel Prout and Samuel Rowlandson who were all heavily influenced by Canaletto. Worcester’s most famous artist BW Leader will also feature in the exhibition through the inclusion of one of his most famous works February, Fill Dyke – also on loan from Birmingham Museums.
Canaletto: A Venetian’s View at Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum will provide the opportunity to see Canaletto’s paintings up close and for the visitor to take a scenic tour of the golden age of Venice through the amazing landscapes.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a programme of talks and tours including:
Bringing Canaletto to Worcester: Bite Size Talk: Tuesday 8 November, 1.30 – 2pm. £3 per person.
This exhibition has been made possible with funding from Art Fund, the Elmley Foundation, Worcester City Council and Arts Worcestershire.
Tickets are on sale now. To book please visit www.museumsworcestershire.org.uk
ENDS
Press contact:
For further information contact:
Helen Annetts, PR on behalf of Worcester City Art Gallery on 07779026720 or email HelenLAnnetts@hotmail.co.uk
Helen Large, at Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum on email Helen.Large@worcester.gov.uk
Image Credit: View on the Grand Canal: From the Palazzo Bembo to that of Grimani Calerghi, now Vendramini. From the Woburn Abbey Collection.
Exhibition Details:
Canaletto: A Venetian’s View
Saturday 1 October 2022 – Saturday 7 January 2023 | Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum
Monday to Saturday 10.30am – 4.30pm
Ticket price:
Standard – £8 / Worcester residents – £4
Children up to 16 FREE
Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum Members FREE
Art Fund Members £4
Booking via: www.museumsworcestershire.org.uk
Canaletto: A Venetian’s View will celebrate the wonderful work of Canaletto, featuring stunning paintings on loan from the Woburn Abbey Collection together with artworks from Worcester’s Fine Art Collection and loans from Birmingham Museums, Tate and Compton Verney.
This exhibition has been made possible with funding from Art Fund, the Elmley Foundation, Worcester City Council and Arts Worcestershire.
About Museums Worcestershire
Museums Worcestershire is the joint museum service of Worcester City and Worcestershire County Councils. It comprises three fantastic venues– Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum, the Commandery in Worcester and The County Museum at Hartlebury Castle.
The collections and exhibitions at our sites are many and varied, covering centuries of the county’s history right up to the present day. Thousands of objects, including the historic buildings themselves, are brought to life through innovative exhibitions and events throughout the year.
www.museumsworcestershire.org.uk