Antonio Visentini Original 18th Century Antique Aquatint Painting Engraving Grand Canal From Palazzo Flangini to Palazzo Bembo
Original antique 19th Century aquatint and painted engraving of the Grand Canal (in Venice, Italy) from Palazzo Flangini to Palazzo Bembo, by Italian artist Antonio Visentini, (1688-1782). The engravings in this series by the artist were after the artist Canaletto. This engraving is unique in that it has hand-painted elements, (or aquatint). The engraving is numbered 3. in the lower right corner, and in the center states, "Prospectus ab Aedibus Flanginorum usque ad Bembos", (the title, in Latin). The engraving (within the impression line), measures approximately 10.83" X 16.93. The artwork in the custom frame measures approximately 15.8"H X 22.8"L. Currently, the frame does not have glass and the artwork will be shipped without glass. Overall, the engraving is in good condition. A small and light watermark in the center is difficult to view in the light. Please review all images for details.
Antonio Visentini (21 November 1688 – 26 June 1782) was a Venetian architectural designer, painter, and engraver, renowned for his architectural fantasies and capricci. He authored treatises on perspective and was a professor at the Venetian Academy.
Life and Works
Born in Venice, Visentini studied under Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini, a Baroque painter known for his work in English country houses in the early 18th century. Visentini is particularly celebrated as the engraver of Canaletto's first significant series of Venetian views, titled Urbis Venetiarum Prospectus Celebriores ex Antonii Canal. Organized by British resident Joseph (Consul) Smith, this series began around 1728 and was completed in 1735, featuring thirty-eight etchings and engravings.
Visentini was commissioned to redesign the façade of Consul Smith's residence, the Palazzo Balbi, on the Grand Canal. He also collaborated with Francesco Zuccarelli on capriccios inspired by English Palladian villas, again for Consul Smith. Some of these works are now part of the British Royal Collection. In Vicenza, Visentini painted frescoes at the Villa Valmarana, with figures by Gian Domenico Tiepolo. In the 1760s, the English architect James Wyatt studied architectural drafting and painting under him.
Visentini's Osservazioni, published in Venice in 1771, was intended as a complement to Teofilo Gallacini's earlier treatise on the errors of Mannerist and early Baroque architecture. The engravings in Osservazioni illustrate Visentini's proposed corrections to Baroque architectural details.
From 1772 to 1778, Visentini taught at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice. He passed away in Venice in 1782.
Antonio Visentini
(1688-1782)
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