Canaletto (1735 to 38). Santi Giovanni E Paolo and the Monument of Bartelommeo Colleoni [oil on canvas]. The Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Windsor, England.

Order characterizes this masterpiece. It does not suffer from the static qualities of experimental works of perspective from centuries past for a handful of reasons. The unexpected placement of the vanishing point, behind a midground building, is one. This work shows clear development in the role of perspective in western creative expression. Another is how the figures are not arranged on a strict organization system. A consistent and pronounced scale is employed, and pictorial depth is strong but slightly contradicted by the scene’s hyper-realistic detail.

Canaletto’s use of value, color purity and pattern reach a level of integration that makes one impossible to separate from another. The full value range is explored, but not in the dramatic fashion of the previous two centuries. It’s integration with chroma creates a beautiful pattern of architectural elements and figures that give the canvas a sense of calm energy. The graceful expression of the canvas is built on both the color/value/pattern integration and the subject’s relationship to the limitations of the canvas. While the latter is somewhat obvious in its application, this is broken up by a diffusion of oblique edges.

Rigid, straight edges and directional thrusts are contrasted by a careful arrangement of circular shapes and figurative subjects. The use of scale and subtle conflict of color temperature and chroma develop the interest and unique realism of this piece. The harshness of the architectural forms is greatly diluted by the indistinct quality of the sky, a major compositional strength. The fresh, open character of this work is largely due to the generous use of midtones, some of which bleed into adjoining areas.

The basilica, fully modeled and developed, dominates the canvas. The manner in which it frames and envelopes the monument, combined with the sun shaft-like and midday illumination of it, pulls a great deal of focus to it as well. Elemental and detail development is exhaustive throughout the canvas, which diffuses much of the ample energy trapped within it.

The greatest strength of this masterpiece is the beautiful, seamless manner Canaletto has woven together tiny vertical, narrow and rounded forms with a latent arrangement of perpendicular and oblique edges. His manipulation of color purity and its relative warmth is a source of tension that supports the subtle sense of interest he’s created. This is a masterful example of hidden elemental and formal conflicts that result in a state of harmonious unity.