A couple weeks ago, my friend and I went to an art exhibition featuring Canaletto from Italy. Since I saw an advertisement for the exhibition, I'd been really looking forward to seeing his artworks. That's because he painted lots of my favorite place, Venice. His art style is known as veduta (cityscape painting ), and captures scenes with incredible detail almost as if they look photographs.

The museum of art was located in Kyoto.

This museum was originally a bank, so you still can see some of its original architectural features inside of the building.

Some rooms are now used for shops, restaurants and small exhibitions. The picture below shows a small sake exhibition.

After we passed through several small exhibitions, we finally came across a large poster with Canaletto's name on it.

I was very excited when I saw even the poster. It felt like Venice was calling me, and I entered as if I was sucked into. Since some paintings were allowed to be photographed, I took some photos. So, I'd like to share.

The picture below is my favorite one. I visited Venice once and I still vividly remember the scenery. I was surprised because Venice never change and still looks exact like this painting even though this piece was painted in the 18th century. This painting reminds me of my time in Venice with my Italian painting teacher and my Italian friends. If you have some spare time, check out my old blog. You can see Venice photos I took. Here is the link: here. Compared to Canaletto's painting, the sea level has definitely risen. This is a clear evidence that Venice is sinking.

The following artworks are not by Canaletto himself, but by painters who admired his style and painted in a similar way.

The following paintings are painted by Canaletto, but the location wasn't Venice. He once studied abroad in England and painted cityscapes there.

I was particularly impressed by the painting below because I don't think I would have the patience to add such incredible details. If I painted it, while painting, the tiny details would drive me crazy. I wish I would have such determination.

The exhibition made me think of Italy, my Italian teacher and my Italian friends. I miss Venice and them.

(4843)