"BERNARDO BELLOTTO - THE SECRETS OF HIS PAINTING"
Bernardo Belloto (1721-1780), known also as Canaletto, spent part of his life in Warsaw, enjoying a special relationship with the Royal Castle and Court throughout that time. An exceptional Italian painter and graphic artist, one of the most outstanding representatives of Venetian "veduta" painting, he remained in the employ of King Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski from 1767 to 1780. The artist died in Warsaw and lies entombed at the Church of the Capuchin Fathers located on Miodowa Street. He primarily painted urban panoramas, public scenes in streets and squares, buildings (series of views of Dresden, Vienna, Warsaw), as well as superb views of architectural complexes. A master of perspective, he also exhibited a special sensitivity for color and light. His works are characterized by a high degree of detail and vast precision in the recording of fact. Canaletto's paintings are not only works of art, serving simultaneously as reliable documents of his times, comparable in their level of precision to photographs. Following the destruction of World War II, his works proved extremely valuable as visual records, assisting in the reconstruction of some of the historical sections of the city of Warsaw.During the thirteen years he spent in Poland, Bernardo Bellotto produced approximately seventy paintings. Apart from "vedutas" (displayed, among other places, in the Prospect Room of Warsaw's Royal Castle), he created historical paintings (e.g. two versions of ELEKCJA STANISLAWA AUGUSTA / THE ELECTION OF STANISLAUS AUGUSTUS, WJAZD JERZEGO OSSOLINSKIEGO DO RZYMU / THE ENTRY OF JERZY OSSOLINSKI INTO ROME) and landscapes (e.g. WIDOK LAK WILANOWSKICH / VIEW OF THE WILANOW MEADOWS). The exhibition BERNARDO BELLOTTO - SEKRETY JEGO MALARSTWA / BERNARDO BELLOTTO - THE SECRETS OF HIS PAINTING documents the processes used in the conservation and restoration of his paintings from the collection of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, as well as the results achieved through these processes. The documents on view consist above all of photographs, infrared images, ultra-violet photos, and x-ray images.
The Royal Castle in WarsawZamek Królewski w Warszawiepl. Zamkowy 4, 00-277 WarszawaDirector: prof. dr hab. Andrzej Rottermundtel. (+48 22) 657 21 70 inf., 657 23 38 rezerw.fax (+48 22) 635 72 60, 635 04 98 inf., 657 22 71 rezerw.www.zamek-krolewski.com.pl