The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco are entering their Venetian era. In March a major exhibition of paintings Monet made in Venice opens at the de Young Museum; before that, the Legion of Honor is setting the scene by displaying some 30 drawings and prints that show how the Veneto region was an artistic hub that rivalled Florence and Rome during the Renaissance (24 January–2 August). In the 16th century, Titian and Veronese brought fresh life to Venetian painting with their loose brushwork and vivid colours, while family workshops such as those of the Bassanos and Tintorettos vied for supremacy. Though there was a brief lull in artistic ferment during the 1600s, things picked up again in the following century: Canaletto’s immaculate vedute, lively scenes by Giambattista Tiepolo and his son Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, and Rosalba Carriera’s pastel portraits – all well represented in this exhibition – heralded another golden age of painting in the region.
Find out more from the Legion of Honor’s website.
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