Gazette Drouot - C apencheres

THE IMAGINARY INTERVIEW THE MAGAZINE
doors to me. All in all, he must have commissioned (pauses to
think)… oh, a good thirty paintings from me, if not more! But there
were plenty of others, like the Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, and
the Dukes of Bedford and Marlborough. (Reflectively) Six years ago,
Smith sold most of his collection, including my pictures, to King
George III. I know I shouldn't say it, but in my heart of hearts, I'm wild
with joy! All the more so in that the sum seemed colossal to me:
£20,000 – can you imagine? So those are the people I call my
"honourable collectors". There was such demand that I had to resign
myself to having some variants executed by my apprentices, one
being my nephew, Bernardo Bellotto. In my view, he works far too
hastily, even though he is more at ease in very large formats. Well,
let's hope that he'll keep going, because he's really got something. I
don't say that just because he's my nephew: I think the same of
Guardi! King Stanislaw Augustus of Poland is said to have made a
few proposals to Bernardo… Well, we'll see what happens.
As a painter of Venice, what appeals to you most in this
amazing city?
Of course, there's St Mark's Square and the Grand Canal. But I particularly
love the campi and the small churches you come across
when you turn a corner in a little street. I never tire of the lagoon,
both in everyday life and during festivals. I am a stage director fascinated
by the play with perspective and light. And I have transmitted
this taste for detail to a good number of my colleagues, who like me
are spellbound by the canals and gondolas.
You might say that this taste for detail is almost obsessive!
Make no mistake: as with Guardi or Bernardo[Bellotto: Ed.] I have
often come to paint an imaginary, reinvented, somewhat fanciful
Venice without much relation to reality. These are scenes that are
sometimes spectacular, sometimes idyllic, and occasionally… disturbing
(laughs). The other day, an admirer of my work told me that
they were whims. Absolutely: that suits me perfectly! After all, Venice
is just a dream that has come to rest beside the sea.
I
Interview by Dimitri Joannidès
"Canaletto-Guardi, les deux maîtres de Venise", Musée Jacquemart-André,
158, boulevard Haussmann, Paris 75008, www.musee-jacquemartandre.com
- Until 12 January 2013. www.canaletto-guardi.com
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"Canaletto à Venise", Musée Maillol - Fondation Dina-Vierny, 61, rue de
Grenelle, Paris 75007 - Until 10 February 2013. www.museemaillol.com
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