Luca Carlevarijs (Udine, 1663 – Venice, 1730) was an Italian painter and engraver who worked mainly in Venice. He is considered the pioneer of the veduta genre, the views of the city, which artists such as Canaletto and Francesco Guardi later took up. His significance lies in establishing a precise image of Venice in the eighteenth century.
Born in Udine, he was also known as “Luca Casanobrio” or “Luca di Ca Zenobri”, names linked to the patronage of the Zenobri family. He visited Rome, where he came under the influence of the Dutch painter Caspar van Wittel, a long-term resident of the city and the pioneer of Roman vedute. He then concentrated on Venice, where he worked and died.
His best-known work is the series Fabriche e vedute di Venetia, published in 1703: a set of 104 etched views, marked by perspective and balance, that record the principal places of the city with great accuracy. Alongside them he painted landscapes, sea pieces and perspective views, as well as capricci with ruins and cityscapes of topographical interest. He collaborated with Johan Richter and with specialist figure painters who added staffage to his scenes.
His daughter Marianna Carlevarijs learned pastel portraiture from Rosalba Carriera. Canaletto, Guardi and Antonio Visentini are said to have been influenced by his work or to have been his pupils, and his paintings and prints served as the foundation on which Canaletto and Guardi built.
Works (3)
A work attributed to Luca Carlevarijs, a Venetian painter active between the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, and dated 1750 in its record. It belongs to the holdings of the Fundación Cariplo. The available information does not allow us to determine with certainty the subject, the commission or the circumstances of its making, so it is best viewed with caution.
Painted in oil on canvas in 1710 by Luca Carlevarijs, this work presents a view of a river port. It is held at the Ca' Rezzonico. The available information does not clarify who commissioned it or the circumstances of its making, so any reading should rest mainly on what the image itself shows.
Where to see the work
- Royal Collection · 1
- Ca' Rezzonico Venice · 1
Curiosities
Three names for one painter
Carlevarijs was also known as “Luca Casanobrio” and “Luca di Ca Zenobri”. These names are explained by the patronage he received from the Zenobri family, whose name appears in its Venetian form. The artist was cited under these variants, which can complicate the identification of some older references to his work.
Views that survive in London
The British Museum in London holds abundant impressions of the Fabriche e vedute di Venetia, which makes it possible to follow his work as an engraver today. Thanks to their precision, these prints are regarded as the most complete record of Venetian urban life in the early eighteenth century, and they served as a starting point for later generations of vedutisti.