Canaletto Thames Chiffon Scarf

DESIGNER'S NOTES

A Fox & Chave silk chiffon scarf with an element from the painting London: The Thames on Lord Mayor’s Day with St Paul’s Cathedral (c.1746–47), by Giovanni Antonio Canal better known simply as Canaletto. 

Canaletto, travelled to London in 1746, seeking new patrons after the War of Austrian Succession disrupted the Grand Tour trade in Venice. English aristocrats, already avid collectors of his Venetian vedute, now desired scenes of their own estates and landmarks painted in his luminous, precise style.

During nearly a decade in England, he depicted Westminster Bridge, country houses such as Lord Brooke’s Warwick Castle and the River Thames, such as in this example where he captures a ceremonial river procession on the Thames, with St Paul’s Cathedral rising majestically in the background. Canaletto also adapted his palette to England’s softer, greyer light, producing works with subtler tonalities than his sunlit Venetian scenes, a testament to his sensitivity not only to architecture but to atmosphere and place.

His London period also involved a level of critical suspicion with some collectors doubting whether the works offered in England were truly authentic, prompting him to publish an advertisement in a London newspaper in 1749 assuring patrons of his authorship.

COLOURS

STYLING

There are many ways to style a Fox & Chave chiffon silk scarf including the basic drape, belted drape and reverse drape. Our chiffon silk scarfs look really good worn in the bandit knot or faux infinity style too. More scarf styling ideas are available in this wonderful How to Tie a Scarf book.