Public and private space in Canaletto's London: An examination of the artist's depiction of the city and its gardens 1745-1756

Abstract

A study of the dimensions of public and private space m London; developing the concept that Canaletto may have consciously painted London as a civic ideal and a city of imperial proportions. The translation of the civic ideal into the private sphere of the beholder through humanist discourse is also explored. This depiction of the civic ideal is then contrasted to literary texts concerning London; ranging from satires to contemporary guidebooks, from the theoretical urban planning of Gwynn and Ralph to the works of Gay and Fielding. The contrast of the idea of private vice against public good reveals that what is not painted becomes as important as what is, for it in itself constitutes the private realm. The final chapter deals with Canaletto's depiction of St. James's Park and the pleasure gardens of Vauxhall and Ranelagh. The public nature of the gardens and the dimensions of display, spectatorship and spectacle are also examined.