Exploring 18th Century Europe Through the Paintings of Bellotto

Bernardo Bellotto (1721-1780) was one of the most famous painters of what's called "veduta", a genre of painting that specializes in cityscapes. Probably using a "camera obscura", he was able to create highly accurate depictions of the various cities that he was active in, ranging from Rome in Italy, to Dresden in Germany, and Warsaw in Poland. His paintings provide us with a glimpse into 18th century Europe, and in this video I will showcase them as we trace Bellottos career.

[@hehe8012]

more of this. so fascinating.

[@kingsandthings]

Thank you! I'm really glad to see that people are enjoying this kind of video :)

[@badnewofficial]

When I saw that paintings I just wondered: a man did that masterpiece, it's unbelievable, that paintings actually exist.

[@Urlocallordandsavior]

It would be interesting if you could do Paris in the 18th century and show the various places before and after Napoleon III decided to build the iconic large grand avenues that dominate today's city of Paris.

[@BamberdittoPingpong]

You can sort of do that with Daguerreotypes taken in Paris in the 1840s

[@sylyjoly]

These are like windows to another world, I could stare at these for days

[@yatusabesnetaquesabe679]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqLTaIuApLaroNU

[@winderwonder]

Thank God for the paintings of Warsaw.

[@seasong7655]

i used to live in Dresden and it really still looks like the paintings for the most part

[@bd4835]

This man was a human camera. Amazing.

[@CarthagoMike]

As someone born in the Netherlands, I am used to seeing paintings of local cities that date back to the 17th and 18th centuries. Things like this make me appreciate even more that the Dutch were the exception, and for realistic landscapes in especially central Europe there were only a few artists in the 18th century.

[@Luboman411]

Ahhhhh...the 1700s. Back when all of Europe, especially Eastern Europe, had a severe lack of classically-trained architects, engineers and painters. So the Italians did all that work. All of St. Petersburg and practically half of Vienna and half of Prague were built by Italian architects and planners, and their churches and palaces were painted and sculpted by Italian painters and sculptors.

[@giselap5032]

Or by architects and painters who took italian names to promote their career!

[@Pepella]

@@arolemaprarath6615 LOL no

[@RenoLaringo]

That is what you were told..... none of any so-called architects our controllers would us like to believe they are at the origin of those wonderful buildings have any real history. They all seem to be men of straw, they come from nowhere and vanish into oblivion in three lines on Wikipedia. Who in his own right mind could possibly believe a civilization of buggy, horse and carts people could be able to build such technological wonders? All the people depicted are most probably inheritors of already existing cities from a previous much more advanced civilization. This very architecture they want us to buy as beeing rococo or greco-roman or roman, gothic and whatnot came from the same worldwide unified civilization. Those buildings were all the same all over the planet on each continent at the same period. Thet were all destroyed under the fallacious explanation of beeing part of temporary "world fairs", or "world expo's" or even during test bombings and unexplainable fires (see how entire Chicago burnt down to get an idea...lol). Every major city on earth has his own "Great Fire" chapter in its history and when you compare the number of erased buildings with the number of casualties, that is where you begin to understand what's goin' on. Also when comparing the sheer sizes of those so-called 18th or 19th century cities with the population census of that era. History has nothing to do with the narrative we are served with.... sorry for your italians ancestors, but I'm afraid we are all on the same boat here. They did not build any of that. None of the 19th century people, that is... 1839 is when photography was invented. Yet not one single shot of the constructions of those magnificent buildings, not a blueprint, nothing. All we are served with are paintings and drawings. Our history is a post-reset history, and it's not very long obviously.

[@mimamo]

@@RenoLaringo Do you have any idea how utterly crazy you sound, lol?

[@RenoLaringo]

@@mimamo would you feel better if I did? sounds like you were about to say something important, ..... Mimamo

[@TenOrbital]

I’ve always found his paintings fascinating and grateful he recorded his world.

[@jec1ny]

When I think of what we have lost as a civilization, I could weep.

[@salutic.7544]

Though I’m sad we lost this type of architecture, I’m also glad we as a society have grown and our quality of life and relative safety has increased

[@marioneira777]

@@salutic.7544 we have grown in some ways (but in other respects we’ve gone backwards).

[@salutic.7544]

@@marioneira777 yea, society is never perfect but overall I’m glad to be alive today then a peasant in the 1700s

[@hampTC]

@@salutic.7544​ more developed human rights, electricity, hygiene and sanitation, modern medicine, airplanes, movies, animation, video games, virtual reality, nuclear power, vaccines, the global internet, prosperity, safety. I'm very happy to be alive now and not then. Though the loss of that cool architecture is a bit of a shame

[@xav96]

@@marioneira777 in most ways*

[@Chris-hp9be]

Its like looking back into time. Amazing 👍🏻👍🏻

[@HundreadD]

At 4:09 that view of Dresden is incredible, not least because it is the spitting image of another one of my favorite paintings which is Johan Christian Dahl's "View of Dresden by Moonlight" painted 1838. The perspective is so similar that no doubt Dahl was paying homage to him, as the Norwegian also settled in Dresden himself. The big difference of course is that by 1838 painting was in the throes of Romanticism, and the stately, formal nature of an 18th century cityscape has given away to a dramatic dark night illumined by a barely concealed moon and dimly lit candles on the far bank. Looking at the two paintings side by side is almost a revelation, but also shows how relatively little the city had changed in the 90 years that separated the two paintings (you will notice that the scaffolding has gone from the spire of the church on the right which was no doubt finished in that intervening time). Alas that in another hundred years, almost nothing of that city would remain!

[@hilarycarling9856]

Thank you so much for this wonderful gloss on the video. Now it is so easy to call up specific paintings on Google Images apposite comments like yours can be followed up! I look forward to finding out more about J. C. Dahl... and, I hope, reading more of your insights on other videos in this series.

[@erichtomanek4739]

To die so young, what a shame. Still his genius will live on. Excellent video.

[@JanGotner]

I'm impressed by your pronounciation of Polish names and words! Thank you and keep up the good work - greetings from Warsaw!

[@jinjunliu2401]

This was amazing! I loved seeing how the cities transformed

[@101519e]

QUESTION: HOW DID THESE PEOPLE, IN THE HORSE AND BUGGY ERA, MANAGE TO BIUILD THESE INCREDIBLE BUILDINGS?

[@actuallywetsocks2374]

I am truly in love with your videos, love the subjects you choose

[@rmd9746]

I always loved to see cities in old paintings like these ones, I don't if Canaletto also painted foreign towns but if he did I would love a similar video about him. Also great production (music, research and quality overall)!

[@mediocreman6323]

9:06 - the pharmacy in the picture, I just have been there a few days ago. Fascinating to see how the city looked like centuries ago, and to imagine what it must have been like to walk these very streets back then.

[@samsaliba1532]

“veduta” means view both in Italian and in my language, Maltese. Brilliant video!

[@peterbudko1398]

Excellent video. Your channel deserves more attention.

[@user-sy8zt1ty3o]

This channel is so underrated.

[@liamprentice3574]

I love this style and period!

[@wilsondaily826]

Just came across your channel, and I can already tell that it's going to be one of my all-time favorites. Really quality stuff, you clearly do detailed and meticulous research. Can't wait to watch more!

[@A_Eichler]

What an excellent video! Thank you for making it.

[@NickonStark]

your content is so high quality. I've been watching those that pop up in my recommendations for a couple days now but damn it, I'm subscribing!

[@SiebenbuergerSxn]

Wonderful video-much enlightening information presented here! Thanks for posting this.

[@gregoryferraro7379]

Absolutely fascinating!

[@Glagolight]

Great video! Thank you for making me discover this painter. Very interesting indeed, especially when it is possible to compare before/after states, architectural projects, and understand urban transformations.

[@Tar.o]

Beautiful, nice work

[@TreeGod.]

Keep making videos your channel will grow You have a good set up for a great channel

[@oknuef]

That was brilliant, would love to see more in this style!

[@XX-gy7ue]

an absolutely stunningly BRILLIANT VIDEO

[@leopoldopetrieska6564]

absolutely excelent and thorough video. everything was interesting

[@foowashere]

I just happened on this one, and it's fantastic! Great combination of art and history, both small and large. Subbed!

[@Awakeningspirit20]

It's surreal to look at these and realize that my ancestors were living in these places, among those people... there's something about these paintings that seem to reveal a much more peaceful world in some ways, without the buzz of today, like that feeling you get in rural areas is just everywhere and you fully live in nature's embrace.

[@Teamtwentysix]

This was fantastically thorough, great job. I knew little more than his name but this gives a great insight.

[@jamescarlton6016]

How fascinating! I'm a huge fan of the eighteenth century so this video was a treat indeed. I'd like to see something about the bourbon kings of France, maybe even Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette? But not the general information that we get most of the time, but more detailed information.

[@lidia6052]

Preziose fotografie dal passato. Grazie

[@ozne_2358]

Another amazingly detailed painter of the period is Gian Battista Luisieri.

[@caxalxsixex]

This channel is gold.

[@gustavramstrom736]

Superb video mate, more like this. Keep it up!

[@BrendanRiley]

I nearly barfed at 2:00 seeing that they replaced that beautiful riverfront with.

[@williamwoody7607]

Thank you, that was exquisite.

[@he2669]

This is fascinating mate, real content on KZbin finally

[@davidbarbosa4774]

Wow!Amazing videos!

[@raielalvaro31]

Please do a profile on Canaletto, or underrated Renaissance masters next time! I love the video. Keep it up!

[@ImpeRiaLismus]

Impressive! Great video.

[@Epsilon4]

This is captivating, you derserve more views.

[@andrenogueira673]

Good old days

[@sarcasmo57]

Mind blowing video

[@olamarvin]

I loved this, great concept for a video. If I could make one wish for improvement it would be to dwell a bit more with the then/now comparisons.

[@COSMOKRAT_616]

Fantastic video sir. Might i request more art history videos, or more architectural history-through-art videos? I would love to see more of this!

[@Luboman411]

For those interested in the music, I think this is Vivaldi. I recognize the concerto that starts at 3:27, which is definitely Vivaldi. It's a violin concerto with two dueling violins. I forget the name. But it is quite charming.

[@HuesingProductions]

Fantastic video!

[@silvan3197]

Thank you fascinating and I like your voice💗

[@beminem]

he is a blessing

[@u3u36]

Love it, I wish you put the location at the pictures so I could search them nowadays.

[@kevinwade6852]

Fantastic channel.

[@KenDelloSandro7565]

Plz make more videos. AMAZING

[@daimhaus]

Great Video, you really deserve more views

[@alexanderauersperg5149]

This is excellent. Vielen dank

[@haukechristiansen5356]

Thanks for using my picture of Neumarkt. I'm flattered. :)

[@george46light]

Infotainment as it should be. Love the relaxed tone. Also love the background music. Would you mind telling what it is?

[@nicktallfox5266]

In hindsight, his paintings of Warsaw were some of the most important pieces of the era, as they were later used as blueprints for the city's post-war reconstruction. As Warsaw was completely and deliberately levelled, it could have been rebuilt as anything from just as it was to some soc-realist dream city, but thanks to him, it kept an old european charm.

[@nemo321minecraft]

Loved the video hope you get the attention you deserve.

[@kingsandthings]

Thank you so much!

[@JazzTigan]

Someone pls make this painting live, at least like gif picture

[@Gliese380]

here you go: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYWqn5-fl5xkbJY

[@sizanogreen9900]

2:15 I have been to that museum while in rome! It is pretty nice.

[@rafaalonso5989]

I wish the KZbin algorithm had shown me this channel earlier!!

[@nicklemen]

My algorithm has been annoying for a while, showing me the same stuff over and over, even videos I’ve already watched. I think it showed me this because I was looking at “Dark Academia” videos.

[@pg1448]

The best thing about these old paintings is that there is not a single glass and concrete box in sight, just pure traditional and classical architectural harmony.

[@lorenzzoklein9178]

Imagine if we had videos at this time ...

[@allenpinnix5241]

I would say fantastic-- but it isn't good enough a word for this-- many thanks!

[@jellymop]

This is so fascinating seeing how things have changed since he painted. It really is a step back in time.

[@gizemcoskun288]

your contents really good and informative, i enjoy watching it but I am a non-native English audience. I don't understand some words or i want to investigate more. I think it will be very useful for your followers like me if you add subtitles to the videos. Thank you again for the effort you put into the videos.

[@kingsandthings]

Thanks for the feedback! I've started to put up subtitles on some of my newer videos, but it's been a bit sporadic. In the future I'll try to get them on all videos, and maybe add them to some of my older ones as well!

[@intranext1359]

Can you also do a video about ottoman cities in the 18th century

[@adkelders1636]

After Photography the next very best thing.

[@mahaphoublue7644]

Fun fact: banato ( sorry for spelling his name wrong ), he actually draw inside restaurant or somewhere that he can stand and easy to buy food and drink.

[@Macedonio_le_provocateur_]

I am curious if he made any paintings of Greece during the ottoman times , the appereance of Greek cities at this time is a bit of a mystery

[@NothingBootz]

I feel myself more at home in the surroundings of the paintings than my current environment. people are now herding people in box cages which are called homes.

[@ROForeverMan]

People are doing this to themselves. If they would refuse to buy "homes" in boxes, the builders will not build boxes anymore. But since the majority of humans are actually @n1mals, then they will continue to buy boxes. What happened in the past is that a handful of evolved elites were able to decide for the masses. Nowadays the masses have been freed and the results speak for themselves.

[@SC-gw8np]

@@ROForeverMan You’re so right, I resonate so much with your thinking.

[@swerveon]

Does anyone know the musical piece in the background?

[@leonardodavid2842]

Vedutas are excellent for comparing past to modern cities. Rome in particular is an excellent study subject. It was spared from the bombings of ww2. Hence virtually any change was done by Romans (or whomever ruled the city) themselves. In addition, one of the best maps of the 18th century, the Nolli map, perfectly depicts the city, is incredibly descriptive about the buildings depicted (mentioning every palazzo in the city, fountain, piazza and church… going as far as drawing every interior space of public buildings of Rome in the 1760s). Hence one can have fun comparing the Nolli map with modern Rome. The modern area of the masuleum of Augustus (but really, any area near a river), has been drastically changed. Edit: Other areas in Rome have been left practically unchanged. Such as certain sections of Via del corso, only a few minutes away from the veduta shown. However Rome has changed more than one would expect. Honestly, I believe for the worst. Most of the change was either to create space for roads for cars, or along the banks of the tiber (since in the 19th the tiber overflowing was a constant problem).

[@Aven-Sharma1991]

Can you also make reconstructions of the ancient Indian kingdoms? Like the Mauryans and the Gupta empires?

[@alexmag342]

He didn't make any reconstructions, its contemporary paintings

[@bobsteve4812]

What are the titles of the classical music in this video?

[@luxenG1810]

Music used?

[@safuwanfauzi5014]

please do 18th Centuries sub-Sahara Africa like in Central Africa Republic, South Sudan, Congo, Cameroon, Rwanda, Malawi, Lesotho, Kenya, Guinea must be amazing great city

[@monicacall7532]

I’d never heard of Bellotto although I’m well acquainted with his uncle Canaletto’s art. While I definitely wouldn’t give up electricity, proper sanitation and other modern conveniences it’s fascinating to see how the world in parts of Europe looked before the terrible destruction of 2 world wars in the 20th century. What happened in Dresden was uncalled for. The firebombing was absolutely horrific and criminal on the same level as Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

[@nicktallfox5266]

And Warsaw too, was subject to unreasonable destruction, but by the axis, and was rebuilt based directly on his paintings.

[@furlan1743]

L’arte italiana, cosa puoi desiderare di meglio

[@lallyoisin]

Phoenician Bell from Baal And german Otto meaning wealth/prosperity.

[@stevyd]

Man was created to accomplish amazing achievements and yet seems fated to destroy many of them in ignorance, greed, and violence.

[@Marchetto6666]

Legenda em português?

[@gisellecorrea1820]

Alguém legenda em português, please.

[@TanukiDigital]

The old styles are more pleasing, in almost every case... :(

[@ivinskymacklenbergrurikovi7797]

Musics??

[@Galbex21]

And woman say men have no feelings. I wonder how men would build so amassing works of architecture without feelings....I just wonder.

[@pierren___]

6:49 ouch

[@TheFinnfluencer]

11:13 it’s Gary Neville

[@pachex2165]

4:18

[@mickel1634]

2:07 - 2:17 = pain

[@jimbobjimjim6500]

The sun light was much more yellow in those days, pre atmosphere destroying industrial revolution, 18th century. (Its the atmosphere that makes the sun appear yellow). Very interesting.

[@puppeli]

You do know, that oil paint yellows with age?