Writer: Philip Steadman

Shadows in the work of Canaletto
23.03.2026

Shadows in the work of Canaletto23.03.2026

– Philip Steadman

Canaletto used a camera obscura to trace the architecture of Venice on site.[1] He used the camera sketches in turn to produce finished drawings and paintings. Fig.1 reproduces two pages from Canaletto’s sketchbook, his quaderno, now in the Accademia Galleries in Venice. They show the Campo and Church of SS Giovanni… Read More

drawing instruments sketch tracing shadows

DMJ – Brunel’s Camera Lucida
01.08.2024

DMJ – Brunel’s Camera Lucida01.08.2024

– Philip Steadman

In the Drawing Matter collection there is a camera lucida that belonged to Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859) (Figs 1–4,6).[1] The camera lucida is an instrument for drawing from life, patented in 1806 by the versatile English chemist and physicist William Hyde Wollaston (1766–1828).[2] The term camera lucida (‘well-lit room’) is… Read More

DMC DMJ 2 – Drawing Instruments/Instrumental Drawings drawing instruments

DMJ – Canaletto’s Venetian Sketches and the Camera Obscura
13.12.2023

DMJ – Canaletto’s Venetian Sketches and the Camera Obscura13.12.2023

– Philip Steadman

Antonio Canaletto used a camera obscura to make careful sketches of the buildings of Venice. The Gallerie dell’ Accademia has a quaderno, a notebook containing 140 pages of these sketches, which provided the raw material for paintings made in the 1730s, as well as finished drawings that Canaletto offered for sale.… Read More

DMJ 2 – Drawing Instruments/Instrumental Drawings sketch