18^th Century Italian

Painter of townscapes and architecture.

Born in Venice of German descent, Fabris was a copyist and a painter of stage sets in Denmark and Germany. His work, like that of other 18^th century Venetian artists like Bernardo Bellotto (1720-1780), was influenced by Antonio Canal, better known as Canaletto (1687-1768). While Bellotto was a nephew and disciple of Canal, Fabris’ connection with the Venetian master is not clear. It remains unknown whether he knew Canaletto’s works directly or through the many prints made of his vedutte. Notwithstanding, Fabris created works based on Canaletto’s Venetian views, which were immensely popular throughout Europe. Fabris’ works differ from Canaletto’s in the treatment of light and the outlines, which were harder in his compositions. In his capriccios ―of which he was the absolute master― he added real elements to imaginary compositions.