Cleveland Museum of Art gives Historical Perspective in 'Eyewitness Views'

The exhibition is grouped into four thematic sections. 'Memory and Manipulation' examines whether the paintings are faithful historic chronicles or aesthetically staged creations. 'Civic and Religious Ritual' presents important religious feast days and public rituals. 'Festival and Spectacle' showcases the pomp and circumstance of Venice and Rome, including ceremonial regatta and elaborate royal birth and marriage celebrations. 'Disaster and Destruction' chronicles natural disasters and instances of political turmoil.

“The level of detail in these paintings can be astounding. To please their patrons—who had often paid for both the celebration depicted as well as the painting of the event—artists like Panini and Canaletto precisely documented the most minute elements of personality, costume and décor. Other artists excelled at conveying all the energy and atmosphere of an important festival or ceremony. Sometimes artists were confronted with the challenge of painting an event that they did not personally attend. This exhibition helps viewers understand the various ways artists addressed such challenges,” said curator Marjorie E. Wieseman.

Co-organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the exhibition includes works from a number of museums. The Bucintoro at the Molo on Ascension Day, from the Philadelphia Art Museum, depicts the finely costumed doge (ruler of Venice) and senior government officials proceeding to board a gilded state barge known as the Bucintoro, described by one visitor as “without doubt the finest ship in the world.” A Night Procession in the Piazza San Marco, from the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, presents a rare nocturnal view of Venice. It showcases Guardi’s virtuoso talent in depicting the jaw-dropping beauty of the Piazza San Marco, lit entirely with wax candles. The Interior of Saint Peter’s during the Visit of the Duc de Choiseul, by Panini, focuses on the awe-inspiring architectural of Rome’s St. Peter’s basilica, while commemorating Choiseul’s accreditation to the Holy See.

Eyewitness Views: Making History in Eighteenth-Century Europe is on view through May 20, 2018. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit http://www.clevelandart.org/