Plate 9: Procession on Corpus Christi Day in the Piazza San Marco, from 'Ducal Ceremonies and Festivals' (Le Feste Ducali)
Medium
Etching and engraving
Dimensions
Plate: 16 15/16 × 21 15/16 in. (43 × 55.7 cm) Sheet: 21 1/4 × 26 15/16 in. (54 × 68.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1961
Accession Number
61.532.9
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
This etching and engraving, created in ca. 1766, represents significant artistic achievement by Lodovico Furlanetto|Giovanni Battista Brustolon|Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal), a Italian artist. The piece demonstrates the technical capabilities and aesthetic conventions of Italian art during this historical period. Working in etching and engraving, the artist employed materials and techniques characteristic of the era, creating visual effects that convey both subject matter and artistic visio...
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant heart of 18th-century Venice withPlate 9: Process on Corpus Christi Day in Piazza San Marco*, from series *Ducalemonies and Festivals*Le Feste Ducali Created around 1766, this etching and engraving the grandeur of a solemn religious procession winding through the iconic Piazza San Marco on the feast of Corpus Christi—a key Catholic celebration honoring the Eucharist. Amidst the square's stunning basilica and soaring campanile, doges, clergy, and citizens in elaborate attire evoke the splendor of Venice's fading republic, blending faith, pageantry, and civic pride. Renowned artist Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal), master of luminous Venetian *vedute* (topographical views), likely provided the original design, with engravers Lodovico Furlanetto and Giovanni Battista Brustolon translating it into intricate print form. Etching and engraving allowed for precise lines and tonal depth, replicating Canaletto's atmospheric detail on a grand scale—plate measures 16 15/16 × 21 15/16 inches. This technique democratized access to Venice's spectacles, preserving ephemeral events for collectors across Europe. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, this work highlights Venice's cultural zenith and the artistry of printmaking as cultural memory. It invites us to ponder how such images bridged public ritual and private admiration, safeguarding the Serenissima's legacy for modern eyes.
About the Artist
Lodovico Furlanetto|Giovanni Battista Brustolon|Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) (Italian|Italian|Italian) · 1710 |1766 |1712 –1743 |1777 |1796
Italian, Venice 1710–1743 Venice|Italian, active Venice, 1766–1777|Italian, Venice 1712–1796 Venice