Interior of a church - Monogrammed attributed to Pietro Bellotti (1725-1804)

Pietro Bellotti (Venice 1725-Toulouse 1804) attributed. Interior of a church monogrammed ..B

Re-lined canvas of 56 cm by 47 cm
Frame of 73 cm by 65 cm

This superb painting offers us a monumental church interior, possibly the baroque church of Santi Ambrogio e Andrea, Chiesa del Gesù in Genoa where the artist stayed. At the very least the artist was inspired by it. The church is filled with many people from all walks of life, from beggars to upper-class families. In a pastel atmosphere, the artist represented the decor but also the objects of worship with attention to detail. The painting bears a monogram of at least two letters, only the last is clearly visible, a B.

Pietro Bellotti (Venice 1725-Toulouse 1804)

Pietro Bellotti was the younger brother of Bernardo Bellotto and, like him, he used the name under which their maternal uncle, Antonio Canal, was known. Research by Charles Beddington and Domenico Crivellari, published in the exhibition catalog Pietro Bellotti, another Canaletto, Venice, Ca' Rezzonico, 2013-14, has clarified the sustained, if sometimes itinerant, career that evidently began in her uncle's workshop and which took her to Genoa, then to Nantes, Paris and London, ending in Toulouse. Born into the largest family of vedutists, there are few similarities between his work and that of other members of this family. He developed an aesthetic distinct from that of his older brother Bernardo Bellotto. His coloring was his own invention, usually with bright turquoise for the water, light brown for the buildings, and bright red and blue accents in the characters, all in an often pastel mood.