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18th-century Italy

Works made in Italy in the 18th century.

49 works · hang 7543 ·

The rooms are imagined; every work on their walls is real.

Walk this roomRehang this room

First room, north wall

  1. 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
  2. Piazza San Marco, by Canaletto, late 1720s
    Piazza San MarcoCanaletto, late 1720sCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. A work made of pen and brown ink and brush and brown ink wash on ivory laid paper.
    Holy Family with St. John and Two AngelsGiovanni Battista Tiepolo, n.d.Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  4. STUDY FOR PAINTING, MOUNT OLYMPUS
    Study for Painting, Mount OlympusVito D'Anna, 1750–60Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

First room, south wall

  1. 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
  2. Warwick Castle: The East Front, by Canaletto, 1752
    Warwick Castle: The East FrontCanaletto, 1752Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Portrait of a Boy, ca. 1800
    Portrait of a BoyUnrecorded Italian maker, ca. 1800Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Second room, south wall

  1. A work made of oil on canvas.
    The DancePietro Longhi, c. 1750Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Nuova pianta di Roma data in luce da Giambattista Nolli l’anno MDCCXLVII, known as La Pianta Grande di Roma, by Giovanni Battista Nolli, 1748
    Nuova pianta di Roma data in luce da Giambattista Nolli l’anno MDCCXLVII, known as La Pianta Grande di RomaGiovanni Battista Nolli, 1748Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. The Antechamber of the Sala del Maggior Consiglio, by Francesco Guardi, ca. 1765–68
    The Antechamber of the Sala del Maggior ConsiglioFrancesco Guardi, ca. 1765–68Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  4. Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti, by Giovanni Paolo Panini, ca. 1756–58
    Scalinata della Trinità dei MontiGiovanni Paolo Panini, ca. 1756–58Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Second room, north wall

  1. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Rinaldo and Armida in Her GardenGiovanni Battista Tiepolo, c. 1742–45Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. We look up through an opening surrounded by a stone ledge, with clusters of people and clouds swirling into a blue sky up and away from us in this vertical, rectangular painting. From a distance, the scene looks like a complete illusion but up close, the people, clouds, and architecture are sketchily painted. The ledge running around the opening has a gold, oval medallion at each corner. Appearing to be carved from white stone, two bearded men with long hair recline against each medallion, flanking them to each side in front of large shells that curve up over the people and frames them. A few architectural structures extend up into the sky, including a pointed obelisk in the lower left corner, a pair of columns at the upper right, and what seems to be the mast of a ship at the top left. Most of the people have pale skin but some have more tan complexions, and a few, including those wearing feather headdresses near the upper left corner, have brown skin. The people wear windswept robes of pale, butter yellow, robin’s egg blue, rose pink, and ivory. The eye may drawn to a few vignettes, such as the man holding a rearing, chestnut-brown horse on the illusionistic ledge near the lower right, a nun wearing a white robe and holding a cross above him in the clouds, and, farthest away, a crowned person sitting on a throne.
    Wealth and Benefits of the Spanish Monarchy under Charles IIIGiovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1762Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Third room, north wall

  1. Allegory of the Planets and Continents, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1752
    Allegory of the Planets and ContinentsGiovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1752Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. The Sacrifice of Isaac, Tobias and the Angel, The Angels Appearing to Abraham, Abraham Welcoming the Three Angels (painting series), by Francesco Guardi, 1750s
    The Sacrifice of Isaac, Tobias and the Angel, The Angels Appearing to Abraham, Abraham Welcoming the Three Angels (painting series)Francesco Guardi, 1750sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery, by Sebastiano Ricci, mid-1700s
    Christ and the Woman Taken in AdulterySebastiano Ricci, mid-1700sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art