Evening star., 1945-03-25
By Leila Mechlin

In the little gallery on the frs
floor Of the National Gallery of Art
adjacent to that in which the French
paintings, lent by the Louvre ane
other French museums are hung, L
now to be seen a most interesting
group of prints by three famous
italian etchers of the 18th century,
Tiepolo, Canaletto and Piranesi.
All three OF these men were Vene-
tians, but Piranesi spent most o1
his life in Rome. The themes they
chose for Interpretation were widely
different and yet all three reflected
the spirit Of the age in which they
the etchers, lived and the people
with whom they mingled. Tiepolo
found his subjects, we are told, en-
tirely in imagery, and reflected IN
his etchings the strange preoccupa-
ton with black magic which swept
over Venice in his day. Conaletto,
on the other hand, concerned him
self with the city picture-Venice it
self, in all its loveliness Of sunshine
and color, spiritual as well as phys
ical, while Piranesi gave himself to
the reproduction of Roman antlqu1-
ties falling into decay but beautified
by kindly nature. The first two won
chief fame as painters, and in many
instances it was from his own paint
ings that Canaletto etched. Piranesl,
on the other hand, worked direct
from nature, and so utilized his
training in architecture and engin-
eering to good advantage.
Italian Tradition
Tiepolo, who, by the way, married
Guards sister, was born in Venice
in 1896 and died in Madrid in ITO;
Canaletto was born in Venice in
1897 and died there in 1853, whereas
Piranesi's span of life was from 172O
to 1778-his birthplace Venice, the
place of his death Rome. The three
share the distinction of upholding
the great Italian tradition in art
when the fires were burning very
low.
The manner and style of these
three etchers were distinctly diverse,
but certain qualities they are found
to have had in common, one OF
which was sincerity, another good
craftsmanship. Piranesi has been
called 1.-The Rembrandt of Archi-
lecture" because of his strength and
boldness. On account of his free
dom of touch and vitality of line
his work is said to have influenced
that of both Goya and Fragonard
OF all these, Canaletto was per-
haps the most subtle and individual
"Virtuosity, with all it implies, was
his" says William WINS, curator o1
prints, the Metropolitan Museum ol
Art, in a charming essay on this
master. And yet this virtue in itself
obscuring effort, has tended, it is
thought, to have minimized his
worth in the eyes of certain critics
"Beckons to Freedom"
In this same essay, Mr.. Twins
touched upon another interesting
fact. Like that of few other etch.
ers, Canaletto's work." he says, III
pleasant upon the wall. affording the
eye escape, as by a window opened
upon a smiling landscape, that
beckons to freedom-that of the
warm sun and of the open sky.
This is true, for in some mysterious
way Canaletto seems to have trans
lated the air, the color, the dream
like fascination of Venice in terms
of black and white, through his
subtle use of the etcher's needle
This is very fascinating.
OF all these etchers, Piranasi was
probably the most productive. The
number of his plates is given as
something more than 1000. Some
of them are to be found today In
the Calcographie Regia of Italy
France and Spain, but the majority
were, because of the value of their
copper, carried away by an invading
Napoleonic army. History of this
sort has been repeated in the pres
ent conflict.
During Piranesi's lifetime his
prints sold for what would be the
equivalent of SO cents. Even today
they are purchasable at small cost
but the buyer must beware of pool
impressions from worn plates or Sec
ond-hand reproductions. Piranes
had a stormy nature, which perhaps
explains his liking for the remains
of antiquity with all its implica-
tions. Certainly his etchings were
influential in turning attention te
classical art and inducing its renais.
sance. To the, print-lover's eye they
bring better understanding Of the
long past era.
In all probability, not one Of these