Portico with a Lantern
Historical Context
This Portico with a Lantern by a follower of Canaletto depicts an architectural capriccio, combining real and imagined architectural elements in a picturesque composition. Such capriccios were popular among collectors who enjoyed both the architectural precision and the creative fantasy of imaginary views. The capriccio genre allowed painters to display their architectural knowledge while exercising greater compositional freedom than strict topographical views permitted.
Technical Analysis
The oil-on-canvas technique renders the architectural elements with the precise perspective and warm lighting associated with Canaletto's style. The atmospheric effects and the integration of architecture with landscape demonstrate the capriccio genre's balance of precision and imagination.
Provenance
Sir Charles Turner, London, by 1908; his sale, Rudolph Lepke, Berlin, November 17, 1908, p. 10, no. 3, and illustration on p. 18, as Bernardo Belotto. Possibly A. S. Drey, Munich [according to Constable and Links 1976]. Antonio Dal Zotto (died 1918), Venice [according to Paris 1928 when the picture and its pendant, 1957.48, were lent by Federico Gentili di Giuseppe]. Federico Gentili di Giuseppe, Paris, (died 1940), by 1917 [see Oulmont 1917]; by descent to his daughter Adriana Salem, Paris and Cambridge, Massachusetts, by 1952 [according to Kleinberger stock card in European Painting Department, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the painting was on loan to the Fogg Museum of Art from 1952–54]; by descent to her son, Daniel Salem, Paris [according to stock card referenced above]; sold to F. Kleinberger & Co., New York, 1956 [according to stock card referenced above and a letter from Harry G. Sperling to Daniel Catton Rich dated November 1, 1956 in curatorial file]; purchased by the Art Institute from F. Kleinberger & Co. with funds provided by Mrs. Clive Runnells (died 1977), who maintained a partial life interest in the picture.
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