Architectural Drawing
18th century (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
The construction of the church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli began in 1481 and it is held to be a model of the early-Renaissance style in Venice. Pietro Lombardo (c.1435-1515) completed the construction in 1489. The drawing depicts the front door surmounted by a domed pediment decorated with a carved Madonna and Child, and flanked by Corinthian columns. The upper level of the faced has two narrow bow windows flanking a central inlaid cross. A richly carved frieze runs underneath a large domed pediment decorated with four circular windows, two rosettes and three free-standing statues. The cross-section shows the interior structure of the church with, under the cupola, a flight of stairs leading up to the altar decorated with two niches with full-length statues on each side and surmounted by a broken pediment decorated with a shell and free-standing statues on top. The church follows a simple plan: a single-aisled nave covered by a barrel vault with a projecting chancel covered by a dome. Exterior and interior walls are decorated with the finest marbles and porphyry revetments.
Antonio Visentini (Venice, 21 Nov 1688 – Venice, 26 June 1782) was an Italian painter, engraver, architect and theorist. He was first known as a painter and trained with the Venetian history painter Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini (1675-1741). He became known as an engraver by the end of the 1720s when he was commissioned by Joseph Smith to produce engravings of Canaletto’s views of Venice. Visentini started working as an architect in 1731, and his first theoretical work, Libro di Architettura, which included Rococo-influenced drawings by Pier Antonio Morelli after Visentini’s ideas, was published in 1733.
His ideas on contemporary architecture derived from Antiquity and the work of Andrea Palladio (1508-80). Later however, Visentini developed neo-Palladian and anti-Baroque ideas. Visentini and his pupils executed numerous drawings of ancient and contemporary buildings intended to disseminate exemplary architecture. He participated to the foundation of the Venetian Academy in 1755, where he became a teacher of architectural perspective in 1772.
Antonio Visentini (Venice, 21 Nov 1688 – Venice, 26 June 1782) was an Italian painter, engraver, architect and theorist. He was first known as a painter and trained with the Venetian history painter Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini (1675-1741). He became known as an engraver by the end of the 1720s when he was commissioned by Joseph Smith to produce engravings of Canaletto’s views of Venice. Visentini started working as an architect in 1731, and his first theoretical work, Libro di Architettura, which included Rococo-influenced drawings by Pier Antonio Morelli after Visentini’s ideas, was published in 1733.
His ideas on contemporary architecture derived from Antiquity and the work of Andrea Palladio (1508-80). Later however, Visentini developed neo-Palladian and anti-Baroque ideas. Visentini and his pupils executed numerous drawings of ancient and contemporary buildings intended to disseminate exemplary architecture. He participated to the foundation of the Venetian Academy in 1755, where he became a teacher of architectural perspective in 1772.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Pen and ink and watercolour on paper |
Brief description | Drawing of a section of the Chiesa sopra il Canale, Venice, 18th century, in an album commissioned by the Earl of Bute |
Physical description | Drawing of a section of the Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli above the canal, in pen and ink and watercolour, on paper. It depicts the facade and interior of the building. Both sections depict the circular windows and Corinthian columns used to decorate the domed church. The drawing is in a landscape format and is bound within the album. |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions | Facciata della Chiesa
Spaccato di fronte entro la chiesa (Handwriting)
|
Credit line | Accepted by H M Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Victoria & Albert Museum, 2000 |
Production | This drawing has recently been atrributed to Antonio Visentini by Paola Modesti |
Summary | The construction of the church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli began in 1481 and it is held to be a model of the early-Renaissance style in Venice. Pietro Lombardo (c.1435-1515) completed the construction in 1489. The drawing depicts the front door surmounted by a domed pediment decorated with a carved Madonna and Child, and flanked by Corinthian columns. The upper level of the faced has two narrow bow windows flanking a central inlaid cross. A richly carved frieze runs underneath a large domed pediment decorated with four circular windows, two rosettes and three free-standing statues. The cross-section shows the interior structure of the church with, under the cupola, a flight of stairs leading up to the altar decorated with two niches with full-length statues on each side and surmounted by a broken pediment decorated with a shell and free-standing statues on top. The church follows a simple plan: a single-aisled nave covered by a barrel vault with a projecting chancel covered by a dome. Exterior and interior walls are decorated with the finest marbles and porphyry revetments. Antonio Visentini (Venice, 21 Nov 1688 – Venice, 26 June 1782) was an Italian painter, engraver, architect and theorist. He was first known as a painter and trained with the Venetian history painter Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini (1675-1741). He became known as an engraver by the end of the 1720s when he was commissioned by Joseph Smith to produce engravings of Canaletto’s views of Venice. Visentini started working as an architect in 1731, and his first theoretical work, Libro di Architettura, which included Rococo-influenced drawings by Pier Antonio Morelli after Visentini’s ideas, was published in 1733. His ideas on contemporary architecture derived from Antiquity and the work of Andrea Palladio (1508-80). Later however, Visentini developed neo-Palladian and anti-Baroque ideas. Visentini and his pupils executed numerous drawings of ancient and contemporary buildings intended to disseminate exemplary architecture. He participated to the foundation of the Venetian Academy in 1755, where he became a teacher of architectural perspective in 1772. |
Bibliographic reference | Martignago, Katia. 'Disegni di architettura dal Grand Tour. La collezione di John Stuart, III conte di Bute', PhD thesis, Università IUAV di Venezia, 2021 |
Collection | |
Accession number | E.8:79-2001 |
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Record created | June 27, 2001 |
Record URL |
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