Eyewitness Views: Making History in Eighteenth-Century Europe

Special Exhibition

Saturday, February 24–Sunday, May 20, 2018

Location: 004 Special Exhibition Gallery
The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Gallery

Painting of Venice — *The Bucintoro Departing from Molo* (detail), 1710. Luca Carlevarijs (Italian, 1663–1730). Oil on canvas; 134.8 × 259.4 cm. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 86.PA.600

Featured Art

The Regatta on the Grand Canal in Honor of Frederick IV, King of Denmark, 1711
Luca Carlevarijs (Italian, 1663–1730. Oil on canvas; 135.3 × 259.7 cm. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 86.PA.599
The Procession on the Feast Day of Saint Roch, about 1735
Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) (Italian, 1697–1768). Oil on canvas; 147.7 × 199.4 cm. The National Gallery, London, Wynn Ellis Bequest, 1876, NG937. Image © The National Gallery, London
The Bucintoro at the Molo on Ascension Day, about 1745
Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) (Italian, 1697–1768). Oil on canvas; 115 × 163 cm. Philadelphia Museum of Art, The William L. Elkins Collection, E1924-3-48. Image © Philadelphia Museum of Art / Art Resource, NY
The Rialto Bridge with the Festive Entry of the Patriarch Antonio Correr, 1735
Michele Marieschi (Italian, 1696–1743). Oil on canvas; 163.3 × 252.5 × 13.4 cm. Osterley Park, National Trust, 771297. Photo: National Trust Photo Library / Art Resource, NY
The Nocturnal Good Friday Procession in Piazza San Marco, about 1755
Francesco Guardi (Italian, 1712–1793). Oil on canvas; 48 × 84.5 cm. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, WA 2937.1 / A386. Image: Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, UK / Bridgeman Images
Doge Alvise IV Mocenigo in the Corpus Christi Procession in Piazza San Marco, about 1775
Francesco Guardi (Italian, 1712–1793). Oil on canvas; 66 × 101 cm. Paris, Musée du Louvre, Departement des Peintures, 322. © RMN–Grand Palais. Photo: Béatrice Hatala / Art Resource, NY
The Giovedì Grasso Festival in the Piazzetta, about 1775
Francesco Guardi (Italian, 1712–1793). Oil on canvas; 66.5 × 100 cm. Paris, Musée du Louvre, Departement des Peintures, 321. © RMN–Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY
The Preparations to Celebrate the Birth of the Dauphin of France in the Piazza Navona, 1731
Giovanni Paolo Panini (Italian, c. 1692–1765). Oil on canvas; 109 × 246 cm. National Gallery of Ireland, NGI.95, Purchased 1871. Photo © National Gallery of Ireland
The Consecration of Giuseppe Pozzobonelli as Archbishop in San Carlo al Corso, 1743–44
Giovanni Paolo Panini (Italian, 1691–1765). Oil on canvas; 198 × 284 cm. Musei Civici di Como, P451
King Charles III Visiting Pope Benedict XIV at the Coffee House of the Palazzo del Quirinale,1746
Giovanni Paolo Panini (Italian, 1691–1765). Oil on canvas; 124 × 174 cm. Napoli, Museo di Capodimonte, 205. Image: Scala / Ministero per i Beni e le Attività culturali / Art Resource, NY
The Procession of Our Lady of Grace in Front of Krasiński Palace, 1778
Bernardo Bellotto (Italian, 1721–1780). Oil on canvas; 116 × 164 cm. The Royal Castle, Warsaw, ZKW/454. Image: The Royal Castle, Warsaw. Photo: Andrzej Ring, Lech Sandzewicz
The Departure of Charles III from Naples to Become King of Spain, 1759
Antonio Joli (Italian, 1700–1777). Oil on canvas; 128 × 205 cm. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, P00232. Image © Museo Nacional del Prado / Art Resource, NY
The Interior of Saint Peter’s with the Visit of the Duc de Choiseul, 1756–57
Giovanni Paolo Panini (Italian, 1691–1765). Oil on canvas; 164.3 × 223.5 cm. The Boston Athenaeum, Purchase, 1834, UR12
The Eruption of Vesuvius, 1771
Pierre-Jacques Volaire (French, 1729–1799). Oil on canvas; 116.8 × 242.9 cm. The Art Institute of Chicago, Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection, 1978.426. Image: The Art Institute of Chicago, IL / Bridgeman Images

About The Exhibition

Eyewitness Views: Making History in Eighteenth-Century Europe is the first exhibition to exclusively examine view paintings—more or less faithful depictions of a given locale—that also depict contemporary historical events. Throughout the 1700s, rulers, princes, ambassadors, and religious dignitaries commissioned these extraordinary works to commemorate key moments in their personal and professional lives. Dramatically staged for the enjoyment of a wide range of spectators, and typically involving sumptuous costumes and elaborate temporary decorations, these events give us insight into the rituals and rare occurrences of a spectacular bygone era.

In richly detailed paintings that utilize the impressive monuments of Venice, Rome, Paris, Warsaw, and other European cities as a backdrop, artists such as Bernardo Bellotto, Canaletto, Francesco Guardi, and Giovanni Paolo Panini vividly re-create what it was like to be present at these magnificent occasions. Whether depicting a triumphal procession, a festive celebration, or the catastrophic eruption of a volcano, the vibrant, colorful paintings in Eyewitness Views enable us to witness some of the most impressive spectacles and dramatic events of eighteenth-century Europe.

Tours of Eyewitness Views are available on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11:00 a.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. through May 6, 2018. Exhibition ticket required.

This exhibition is co-organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. It is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.