Enfilade

With his younger brother Pietro the focal point of an exhibition in Venice, Bernardo Belotto, the pupil and nephew of the more famous ‘Canaletto’ will be the subject of a major show in Munich next fall:

Canaletto, Bernardo Bellotto Paints Europe / Bernardo Bellotto Malt Europa
Alte Pinakothek, Munich, 17 October 2014 — 19 January 2015

Bernardo Bellotto, View of Munich from the East, 1761
© Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich

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With around 80 loans from public and private collections in Europe and the USA, this exhibition will be the first comprehensive show of Bellotto’s work in Germany for almost 50 years and will provide a unique opportunity to accompany the Venetian vedute painter on his journey through 18th-century Europe.

Bernardo Bellotto, known as Canaletto, worked for several months in Munich in 1761 and painted a broad panorama of the city and two views of Nymphenburg Palace for Maximilian III, Elector of Bavaria. Thanks to a comprehensive restoration programme, the three large-format paintings will regain their original lustre over the next few months. These are among the artist’s major works and are also unique historical documents.

The exhibition shows Bellotto’s pictures of Munich for the first time within the context of exemplary paintings and drawings from all his creative phases. Views of royal cities, palaces and villas will form the focus of attention and bring to life the places where Bellotto worked — from Venice and Rome to Dresden, Vienna and Warsaw. In addition, groups of works, such as landscapes and the artist’s fanciful capricci that have so far been paid less attention, will also form thematic highlights in the projected exhibition.