View of Scuola Grande di San Rocco and the Church of Saint Roch in Venice

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The Scuola Grande di San Rocco is now a magnificent gallery showing paintings by Tintoretto.

The following pigment analysis is based on the technical examination of the painting at the National Gallery London (1).

1 Blue sky: consisting of several layers (from top to bottom)

1 top layer: Prussian blue mixed with lead white
2 light gray underlayer: lead white and charcoal black
3 light cream coloured ground: lead white and brown ochre (or umber)
4 orange-brown ground: earth pigments

2 The Doge’s yellow robe, the yellow highlights of the tasseled swags on the Scuola and yellow highlights on the picture frames displayed in front of the buildings: Naples yellow. It is mixed with reddish-brown ochre in spots with a more orange tinge.

3 The scarlet robe of the Cancelliere Grande: consisting of several layers (from top to bottom)

1 top layer: vermilion with little lead white
2 warm gray underlayer: lead white with smaller amounts of ochres, black and in some spots also red lake
3 light cream coloured ground: lead white and brown ochre (or umber)
4 orange-brown ground: was missing from the investigated sample

4 The rose-pink curtain hanging from the window: red lake and lead white

5 The mauve robes of the three secretaries of the Savio Grande: consisting of several layers (from top to bottom)

1 top layer: red lake with charcoal black and lead white
2 warm gray underlayer: lead white with smaller amounts of ochres, black and in some spots also red lake
3 light cream coloured ground: lead white and brown ochre (or umber)
4 orange-brown ground: earth pigments

6 Mid-green of foliage in the swag over church doorway on the far right: green earth and Naples yellow. The green earth pigment is of unusual intense colour.

References

(1) Bomford, D., Roy, A. ‘Canaletto’s “Venice: The Feastday of S. Roch”‘. National Gallery Technical Bulletin Vol 6, pp 40–43.

(1) Bomford, D., Roy, A. ‘Canaletto’s “Venice: The Feastday of S. Roch”‘. National Gallery Technical Bulletin Vol 6, pp 40–43.

(2) Octave Uzanne, Canaletto, Parkstone International, 2012.

(3) Katharine Baetjer, J. G. Links, Canaletto, Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), 1989. Available as pdf from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.