venetian art, 1600–1797 831
family, by Zanchi, Celesti, Fiumani, Daniel Heintz, Lazzarini, Molinari,
and Bellucci, painted at the end of the century that had just come to a
close.54 new and old artists, both in terms of age and style, thus stood
side by side, unable to escape comparison and, perhaps, dialogue. Such
that, already in 1690, Dorigny, Zanchi, Loth, Fiumani, Cervelli, Bellucci,
Lazzarini, and Bambini had begun to campaign for the formation of a
permanent “academy of Human Bodies” in Venice and, thus, the defini-
tive emancipation of painting which, until 1682, was still considered the
dominion of the guild of the dipintori.55
at the start of the Settecento, excess and emphasis slowly began to
be mitigated in the daily life of the ruling classes. a lighter register dic-
tated by le bon goût of the esthetics of the rococo gradually asserted itself,
albeit in the Venetian barocchetto fashion. an interest in small objects
and in the ephemeral qualities of the senses arose, with attention directed
increasingly towards expressions of affection. Pomp and luxury were cher-
ished, and together with the exaltation of sensitivity, of the good taste
that constitutes the art of living, became distinctive criteria. an esthetic
sensibility came to the fore that overturned the previous concepts: what
is minuscule becomes grandiose, courtly and heroic, and vice versa, as in
the Riccio rapito of alexander Pope.56
Part Two: The 18th Century: The Golden Twilightit is by now commonplace to portray 18th-century Venice as indulgent,
extravagant, and even sexually permissive. this was a reputation that was
time and again confirmed by official and occasional foreign visitors and
Grand tourists, and it persisted throughout the era.57 the months-long car-
nival season and Casanova’s adventures, well known beyond the Venetian
borders, only added more of the same flavor to this image of frivolity and
hedonism. at least this is how Venice appeared on the surface. a typical
54 Favilla and rugolo, Venezia barocca, p. 190.
55 Favaro, L’arte dei pittori in Venezia.
56 Massimo Favilla and ruggero rugolo, Venezia ’700. Arte e società nell’ultimo secolo
della Serenissima (Vicenza, 2011), 13–17.
57 edward Gibbon, for instance, remarked in his memoirs: “the spectacle of Venice
afforded some hours of astonishment and some days of disgust.” See, for a wealth of exam-
ples of specifically the english Grand tourist, edward Chaney, The Evolution of the Grand
Tour: AngloItalian Cultural Relations Since the Renaissance (London/Portland, Ore., 1998;
rev. ed. routledge, 2000); also Bruce redford, Venice and the Grand Tour (new Haven,
1996).