The Stonemason's Yard (c. 1725)
National Gallery, London
An everyday Venice of workmen and washing in the Campo San Vidal, looking across to Santa Maria della Carità
Image: Giovanni Antonio Canal · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Art
Canaletto
1697–1768 · Italian (Venetian)
Vedutismo (view painting) / Rococo
Canaletto, born Giovanni Antonio Canal in Venice, was the supreme painter of vedute — precise, sunlit views of Venice's canals, palaces and festivals. Sold largely to British aristocrats on the Grand Tour through his agent Joseph Smith, his work is especially well represented in British collections, and he spent nearly a decade painting London in 1746–1755.
How to spot them
- ▸Crisp, topographically detailed views of Venice: the Grand Canal, St Mark's Basin, the Doge's Palace, the Salute
- ▸Bright blue skies, clear light, and gondolas and tiny figures animated with small flicks of paint
- ▸Ceremonial pageants such as the Doge's Bucintoro on Ascension Day and regattas
- ▸Quiz clue pattern: Venetian view painter, Grand Tour, Joseph Smith, George III, the Thames and old Westminster Bridge
Key works
The Bacino di San Marco on Ascension Day (c. 1733–1734)
Royal Collection (Buckingham Palace)
The Doge's gilded Bucintoro returns from the ceremony of the Marriage of Venice to the Sea
The Feast Day of Saint Roch (c. 1735)
National Gallery, London
The Doge and dignitaries process from the Scuola di San Rocco under a canopy
Image: Giovanni Antonio Canal · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
London: The Thames and the City of London from Richmond House (1747)
Goodwood House, West Sussex
Painted for the Duke of Richmond; the river view to St Paul's Cathedral
Quick-fire facts
- •"Canaletto" means "little Canal", distinguishing him from his father, the theatre scene-painter Bernardo Canal.
- •The British merchant and later consul Joseph Smith acted as his agent and sold his collection to George III in 1762, which is why the Royal Collection has so many Canalettos.
- •He lived in England from 1746 to about 1755, painting the Thames, the new Westminster Bridge and country houses such as Warwick Castle.
- •His nephew and pupil Bernardo Bellotto also used the name Canaletto and became famous for views of Dresden and Warsaw.
- •He began as a painter of theatrical scenery before turning to view painting in the early 1720s.
- •He is often thought to have used a camera obscura in preparing his views.
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Sources
- Royal Collection Trust — The Bacino di San Marco on Ascension Day (RCIN 404417)
- National Gallery, London — The Stonemason's Yard (collection entry)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — Canaletto