Floor plan

Time and place18th-century Italy

18th-century Italy

The Meeting, by Pietro Longhi, 1746
A work made of etching and engraving on heavy ivory laid paper.
A work made of pen and brown ink and brush and brown and gray wash, over black chalk, on ivory laid paper.
This painting depicts a square seen from above, surrounded by elegant architectural structures. On the left side, there is a large building with a red-brown facade and arched white windows with columns. On the right, there is an ornate off-white structure with arches and detailed stonework. Both of these long buildings stretch from the sides of the painting towards the center, where they converge at a gray building with tall spires and large blue domes behind it. In the square there are countless people in colorful attire, wearing shades of pink, red, blue, green, yellow, black, and blue. There are men, women, and children, and those with visible faces all appear to have light skin. Some wear white masks with bird-like noses. On the right, there is a long line of people engaging in a procession or gathering. People also line the windows of the two buildings on either side of the square. The painting is incredibly detailed, capturing architectural elements and the bustling crowd. The color palette features earthy tones for the architecture and vibrant colors for the people, all set below a pale blue sky with a few white-and-gray clouds.
A work made of chiaroscuro woodcut, from three blocks in pink, dark blue, and light blue, on cream laid paper.
A work made of etching on heavy ivory laid paper.

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Works made in Italy in the 18th century.

First room, north wall

  1. The Meeting, by Pietro Longhi, 1746
    The MeetingPietro Longhi, 1746Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. A work made of etching and engraving on heavy ivory laid paper.
    The Lion Bas-Reliefs, plate 5 from Imaginary PrisonsGiovanni Battista Piranesi, 1761Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. A work made of pen and brown ink and brush and brown and gray wash, over black chalk, on ivory laid paper.
    Three Angels Appearing to AbrahamGiovanni Battista Tiepolo, c. 1726Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

First room, south wall

  1. This painting depicts a square seen from above, surrounded by elegant architectural structures. On the left side, there is a large building with a red-brown facade and arched white windows with columns. On the right, there is an ornate off-white structure with arches and detailed stonework. Both of these long buildings stretch from the sides of the painting towards the center, where they converge at a gray building with tall spires and large blue domes behind it. In the square there are countless people in colorful attire, wearing shades of pink, red, blue, green, yellow, black, and blue. There are men, women, and children, and those with visible faces all appear to have light skin. Some wear white masks with bird-like noses. On the right, there is a long line of people engaging in a procession or gathering. People also line the windows of the two buildings on either side of the square. The painting is incredibly detailed, capturing architectural elements and the bustling crowd. The color palette features earthy tones for the architecture and vibrant colors for the people, all set below a pale blue sky with a few white-and-gray clouds.
    Procession in the Courtyard of the Ducal Palace, VeniceAntonio Joli, 1742 or afterCourtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. A work made of chiaroscuro woodcut, from three blocks in pink, dark blue, and light blue, on cream laid paper.
    The Old ShepherdConte Antonio Maria Zanetti, the Elder, 1722Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. A work made of etching on heavy ivory laid paper.
    View of the Remains of the Praetorian Fort [the Poecile], Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli, from Views of RomeGiovanni Battista Piranesi, 1770Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Second room, south wall

  1. MADONNA AND SAINTS
    Madonna and SaintsSebastiano Conca, ca. 1730Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  2. Study for "The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian" (for the Augustinian monastery at Diessen, Germany), by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1739
    Study for "The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian" (for the Augustinian monastery at Diessen, Germany)Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1739Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. People walk, sit, or stand on a plaza along a canal lined on the far side with buildings in this horizontal landscape painting. The canal begins in the lower left corner and angles slightly right as it travels to the horizon, which comes about a third of the way up this composition. One, two, three, or four-story buildings line the canal to the left into the far distance. Arched doorways give direct access to the water, and one person leans out an upper-story window. The buildings are reflected in the gently rippling water, which is painted in shades of olive green. A stepped bridge crosses the canal in the near distance, and two gondoliers guide a long, narrow boat to a platform alongside the plaza in the bottom left corner of the composition. People walk or stand singly or in pairs on the plaza in the bottom right quadrant of the painting. The women wear dresses with long skirts and head coverings in shades of black, white, yellow, or pale pink. The men wear hats, jackets, capes, stockings, and slacks in shades of peanut brown, muted yellow, red, blue, or white. The people all appear to have pale, peachy skin. A statue of a man riding a horse rests on a towering platform in a grassy patch to our right. Beyond it is the blocky form of a red brick church. One man in a pair standing on the plaza gestures toward the entrance with a walking stick and others approach the central entrance. Sunlight streams across the scene from the upper right, throwing the church façade into shadow and casting a deep shadow across the face of another building that encloses the far side of the plaza. That second building has arched windows and doors, statues lining the roofline, and a winged lion over the entrance. A fat cloud trundles across a mostly empty vibrant blue sky above.
    The Campo di SS. Giovanni e Paolo, VeniceBernardo Bellotto, 1743/1747Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  4. SKETCHES FOR A TABLET
    Sketches for a tabletCarlo Marchionni, ca. 1750Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Second room, north wall

  1. The Letter, by Pietro Longhi, 1746
    The LetterPietro Longhi, 1746Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. The painting depicts many large and small ships on blue-green water. Gondolas in shades of gold, black, red, and blue drift across the water, small people on them pushing long poles through the water. There are also large sailboats and long boats with several rowers. They create a colorful mix. On the left, a large brown building with columns is visible. Some of the boats pull up to it, and many people in colorful clothing are visible on the shore. Behind the water are more large buildings in shades of brown, cream, and tan, with even more people visible on the streets below them. There is a large tower in the center of the painting, and several blue domes are visible in the distance. The sky is light blue, with white and gray clouds drifting across it.
    Procession of Gondolas in the Bacino di San Marco, VeniceAntonio Joli, 1742 or afterCourtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. Sketch for a Ceiling, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1750s
    Sketch for a CeilingGiovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1750sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Third room, north wall

  1. A work made of oil on canvas.
    The DancePietro Longhi, c. 1750Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. The Round Tower, from "Carceri d'invenzione" (Imaginary Prisons), by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1749–50
    The Round Tower, from "Carceri d'invenzione" (Imaginary Prisons)Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1749–50Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Dozens of men with several women and a few children gather in pairs or small groups across a sun-drenched plaza in front of a domed church next to a long, pale pink building in this horizontal painting. The people’s faces and hands we can see have pale, peachy skin. The men wear hats and shin-length capes or jackets over stockings in tones of charcoal gray, olive green, butterscotch yellow, black, and brown. The women wear black capes covering their heads and long, full skirts. The ash-brown plaza has two zones where geometric patterns are picked out in a lighter, oatmeal brown. Three coral-red flagpoles are spaced along the center of the plaza parallel to the two buildings. Each flagpole rests on an olive-green base about a third of the height of the pole. Tables under open umbrellas clustered around the outer two flagpoles display piles of cloth, and a few people gather around the wares. The domed building extends into the scene from the left edge of the painting, and reaches about a third of the way across as it angles away from us. It has a central portal with nested arches, flanked to each side by a pair of slightly smaller, arched portals. Scenes against gold backgrounds appear in the archway of each of the five doors. There is a second level of arches above. The smaller arches to either side are decorated with more scenes of people against gold backgrounds. Four gold horses stand atop the central, lower arch, each with one front and one back hoof raised. The arch behind them is dim, the back side of a stained-glass window. The stone of the arches and front of the building are light brown. The upper arches are lined with pale, slate-gray spires and curling tracery. The three-story pink building sits close by to our right, extending into the distance on the same angle as the church, and as tall as its neighbor. The lowest level is a series of open, pointed arches. The second level is also a row of arches, but more closely spaced. People walk and stand under both covered walkways. The top half of the building has a carnation-pink façade with seven windows evenly spaced across its width. The central window is surrounded by carved stone ornament. Along the right edge of the painting and closer to us than the large buildings is the corner of a two-story building. The lower level is in shadow under a sloping awning, creating a merchant’s stall, and the second level has a rounded, arched window. One person stands at the front corner of the roof and looks down into the square. In the narrow gap between the row of buildings to our left and the smaller structure to our right is a winged lion atop a tall column. Beyond that is sparkling blue water with several masted ships and long, narrow gondolas. The sky above has thin white clouds against a pale blue sky. The artist signed the lower left, “A.C.F.”
    The Square of Saint Mark's, VeniceCanaletto, 1742/1744Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington