Following on from works by Rembrandt, Van Dyck and Holbein, another painting by a world-renowned artist is set to go on show in Hull later this year, this time bringing a little bit of Venice to the city.
A Regatta on the Grand Canal c.1733-4 by Italian artist Canaletto will be on display at the Ferens Art Gallery from October, lent by His Majesty The King from the Royal Collection.
It will be the fifth and final work loaned to the gallery as part of a partnership with Royal Collection Trust that started in 2017, presenting a range of works painted by some of the world’s most famous artists.
Normally to be found in the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace, it will now be the star attraction as part of a special exhibition opening this autumn using Venice as a theme but drawing on Hull’s rich maritime history as another city by the sea.
Running from 20 October 2023 – 28 January 2024, it centres around the Canaletto painting on loan from the Royal Collection, which shows the entire central stretch of the Grand Canal. One of his finest works, it will take pride of place in the Ferens, regarded as one of the country’s finest regional art galleries.
Hanging alongside it will be one of the painter’s early works from the Ferens’ own collection, The Grand Canal, Venice, Looking North East from the Palazzo Balbi to the Rialto Bridge, made around 1724, which is painted from the same vantage point as the loaned image.
Canaletto’s work can be viewed today to see what has changed and what remains of historic Venice, how the canal and its water levels have changed, and the changing facades of the buildings through modernisation and pollution.
The Royal Collection painting shows the regatta with elaborately decorated barges belonging to prominent Venetian families lining the Canal, and people dressed in carnival costume.
To find out more about the Ferens Art Gallery, visit www.hcandl.co.uk/ferens
For tourism information about visiting, and staying in, Hull see www.visithull.org
Photo: The Ferens Art Gallery, Hull