The Italian Job: Samuel Egerton and Canaletto

At just 18, Samuel Egerton left rural Cheshire for Venice, the most vibrant and culturally dynamic city of its time. This area of the exhibition explores Samuel’s life in Venice, his connections with leading artists, and showcases Tatton’s two remarkable Canalettos, his striking portrait by Bartolomeo Nazari, and rare archival correspondence.

 In 1729, 18-year-old Samuel Egerton of Tatton Park, Cheshire, made the thousand-mile journey by land and sea to his first job in Venice, Italy.

 

Apprenticed for five years to the influential art dealer and collector Joseph Smith, Samuel found himself at the heart of the most vibrant, hedonistic and culturally dynamic city in the world. Samuel was at the centre of a flourishing artistic community of some of the most celebrated artists of the time, including one Antonio Giovanni Canal – better known as Canaletto.

 

During this part of the exhibition you will meet the first members of the Egerton family to make Tatton Park their home, follow Samuel's journey to and life in Venice along with masterpieces of the time from Canaletto, Nazari and other influential Italian artists.

 

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