CANALETTO

(Giovanni Antonio Canal, 1697-1768) Skip to Images

Italian painter. He was a painter of townscapes (vedute), principally of Venice, and was trained initially by his father as a scene painter. His earliest known signed and dated work, Architectural Capriccio, (1723, Milan, private collection) reflects this training.

However, in c1719-20 he was in Rome, where he saw and was influenced by Panini's paintings of recognizable Roman views. Canaletto was back in Venice in 1720 for, from that date until 1767, he is listed in the fraglia (Venetian painters' guild). His earliest documented views of Venice were for Stefano Conti of Lucca (four paintings, 1725-6, Montreal, private collection). The paintings of this period, generally regarded as his best, display the qualities which ensured he would take up the mantle of his principal precursor Luca Carlevaris. The finest work is perhaps The Stonemason's Yard (c1729, London, National Gallery): the paint is fluently handled, the colour is rich with bold contrasts of light and shade, and the figures, though small in scale, are lively to an extent lost in the shorthand figures of his later pictures. These early paintings are unusual for their time in that they were apparently painted directly from nature, rather than from the traditional practice of making studies on site for working up back in the studio; only later did Canaletto revert to the more usual practice, frequently using a camera obscura as a drawing aid. (The lens of this device has the unfortunate effect of reducing distant figures to blurs and has been presumed as the source of Canaletto's later manner of creating figures from blobs of colour.) The Stonemason's Yard is unusual in that it represents a ramshackle working area of the city. Canaletto's real market was for views of the splendid architectural sights, preferably richly decked out for some festive occasion (e.g., Venice: the Feast Day of St. Roch, early 1730s, London, National Gallery) or better, a regatta on the Grand Canal (e.g., The Bucintoro Returning to the Molo on Ascension Day, c1730, Milan, Aldo Crespi Collection).

Canaletto soon attracted the notice of English visitors and by 1730 had come to a working arrangement with Joseph Smith (later British consul in Venice) who not only bought pictures from him, but acted as agent for sales to other British customers. Encouraged by the strength of his English market, Canaletto travelled to England in 1746, returning to Venice only for short periods, until his final return c1756. He attempted developing a market for English views, but experienced great difficulty. Also, his style had by now become somewhat hardened, mechanical even, to the extent that in 1749, the English art critic and historian, George Vertue, publicly suggested that the present 'Canaletto' was an impostor. Canaletto responded by giving public demonstrations of his ability as a painter, but seems not to have largely improved his fortunes. He eventually returned to Venice and in 1763 was finally elected to the Venetian Academy. He continued to paint until his death in 1768, but never regained the commercial success of his early years. Owing to his popularity with English travellers, most of his paintings are in Britain. Canaletto's nephew and pupil, Bernardo Bellotto, worked in a similar style.

- From The Bulfinch Guide to Art History

	Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) Westminster Bridge, London, with the Lord Mayor's Procession on the Thames 1747 Oil on canvas 37 3/4 x 50 1/4 in. (95.75 x 127.5 cm) Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut
	Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) The Reception of the French Ambassador in Venice 1740s Oil on canvas 71 x 102 in (181 x 259.5 cm) Hermitage, St Petersburg
	Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) London: Northumberland House 1752 Oil on canvas 84 x 137 cm Collection Duke of Northumberland
	Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) View of the Ducal Palace in Venice c. 1755 Oil on canvas 20 1/16 x 32 11/16 in (51 x 83 cm) Uffizi, Florence
	Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) The Campo di Rialto c. 1758-63 Oil on canvas 46 7/16 x 72 1/2 in (119 x 186 cm) Gemaeldegalerie, Berlin
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Rio dei Mendicanti: Looking South. 1723. Oil on canvas. Ca'Rezzonico, Venice, Italy
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. The Molo: Looking West. 1730. Oil on canvas. Tatton Park, Cheshire, National Trust, UK.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Riva degli Schiavoni: Looking East. 1730. Oil on canvas. Tatton Park, Cheshire, National Trust, UK.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. A Regatta on the Grand Canal. c. 1732. Oil on canvas. Royal Collection, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. The Bucintoro at the Molo on Ascension Day. c. 1732. Oil on canvas. Royal Collection, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. The Arsenal: the Water Entrance. c. 1732. Oil on canvas. Woburn Abbey, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Grand Canal: from Santa Maria della Carità to the Bacino di San Marco. Early 1730s. Oil on canvas. Royal Collection, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. The Doge Visiting the Church and Scuola di San Rocco. c. 1735. Oil on canvas. National Gallery, London, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Piazza San Marco: Looking South-East. 1735-40. Oil on canvas. The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Entrance of the Grand Canal: from the West End of the Molo. 1735-40. Oil on canvas. The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Grand Canal: Looking South-West from the Chiesa degli Scalzi to the Fondamenta della Croce, with San Simeone Piccolo. c. 1738. Oil on canvas. National Gallery, London, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Grand Canal: Looking East, from the Campo San Vio. c. 1725. Oil on canvas. Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, Germany.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Dolo on the Brenta. Late 1720s-1742. Oil on canvas. Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, Germany.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Capriccio: Ruins and Classic Buildings. 1730s. Oil on canvas. Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan, Italy.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Rome: the Arch of Constantine. 1742. Oil on canvas. Royal Collection, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Rome: Ruins of the Forum, Looking towards the Capitol. 1742. Oil on canvas. Royal Collection, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Capriccio: the Ponte della Pescaria and Buildings on the Quay. 1742-4. Oil on canvas. Royal Collection, UK.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Capriccio: the Horses of San Marco in the Piazzetta. 1743. Oil on canvas. Royal Collection, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Capriccio: the Grand Canal, with an Imaginary Rialto Bridge and Other Buildings. 1740s. Oil on canvas. National Gallery, Parma, Italy.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Entrance to the Grand Canal: Looking East. 1744. Oil on canvas. Royal Collection, UK.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. London: Westminster Bridge from the North on Lord Mayor's Day. 1746. Oil on canvas. Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, USA
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. London: Seen through an Arch of Westminster Bridge. 1746-7. Oil on canvas. Duke of Northumberland, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Grand Canal: Looking North-East from the Palazzo Corner-Spinelli to the Rialto Bridge. c. 1725. Oil on canvas. Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, Germany.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. London: Whitehall and the Privy Garden from Richmond House. 1747. Oil on canvas. Trustees of Goodwood House, West Sussex, UK.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. London: the Thames and the City of London from Richmond House. 1747. Oil on canvas. Trustees of Goodwood House, West Sussex, UK.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Warwick Castle: the South Front. 1748. Oil on canvas. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Madrid, Spain
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. London: the Old Horse Guards from St. James' Park. 1749. Oil on canvas. Tate Gallery, London, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. London: the Old Horse Guards and Banqueting Hall, from St. James' Park. 1749. Oil on canvas. Private collection
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. London: Westminster Abbey, with a Procession of Knights of the Bath. 1749. Oil on canvas. Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey, London, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Warwick Castle: the East Front. 1752. Oil on canvas. City Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, UK.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. London: Northumberland House. 1752. Oil on canvas. Duke of Northumberland, UK.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. London: Greenwich Hospital from the North Bank of the Thames. c.1753. Oil on canvas. National Maritime Museum, London, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. London: Ranelagh, Interior of the Rotunda. 1754. Oil on canvas. National Gallery, London, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Entrance to the Grand Canal: Looking East. c. 1725. Oil on canvas. Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, Germany.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Old Walton Bridge. 1754. Oil on canvas. Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Eton College Chapel. c. 1754. Oil on canvas. National Gallery, London, UK.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Capriccio: River Landscape with a Column, a Ruined Roman Arch, and Reminiscences of England. c. 1754. Oil on canvas. The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. San Marco: the Interior. c. 1755. Oil on canvas. Royal Collection, UK.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Grand Canal: Looking South-East from the Campo Santo Sophia to the Rialto Bridge. c. 1756. Oil on canvas. Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Germany.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Piazza San Marco: Looking South-West. 1750s. Oil on canvas. Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT, USA.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Piazza San Marco: Looking East from the North-West Corner. c.1760. Oil on canvas. National Gallery, London, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Piazza San Marco: Looking East from the South-West Corner. c.1760. Oil on canvas. National Gallery, London, UK.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. San Marco: the Crossing and North Transept, with Musicians Singing. 1766. Pen and ink with washes. Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Grand Canal Viewed from Palazzo Balbi. Oil on canvas. Ca'Rezzonico, Venice, Italy.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Santi Giovanni e Paolo and the Scuola di San Marco. c. 1725. Oil on canvas. Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, Germany
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Capriccio of Colonade and the Courtyard of a Palace. 1765. Oil on canvas. Municipality of Venice, Venice, Italy.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. The Basin of St. Mark. 1738-40, Oil on canvas. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, USA
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. View of a River, Perhaps in Padua. 1745. Oil on canvas. Private collection
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Rome: The Arch of Septimius Severus. 1742. Oil on canvas. Royal Collection, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Rome: The Arch of Titus. 1742. Oil on canvas. Royal Collection, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. The Grand Canal from Campo S. Vio towards the Bacino. c. 1730. Oil on canvas. Royal Collection, UK.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Venice; The Piazzzetta towards the Torre del'Orologio. 1743. Oil on canvas. Royal Collection, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Capriccio: View with Ruins. c. 1740. Oil on canvas. Royal Collection, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. The Reception of the French Ambassador in Venice. 1740s. Oil on canvas. The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. The Reception of the French Ambassador in Venice. Detail. 1740s. Oil on canvas. The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. The Piazzetta: Looking North. c. 1727. Oil on canvas. Royal Collection, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. The Reception of the French Ambassador in Venice. Detail. 1740s. Oil on canvas. The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. The Molo, Seen from the Basin of San Marco. Oil on canvas. Louvre, Paris, France.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. A View of the Ducal Palace in Venice. 1755. Oil on canvas. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. The Vigilia di S. Pietro. After 1755-56. Oil on canvas. Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Germany
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. The Vigilia di S. Marta. 1755-56. Oil on canvas. Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Germany.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. The Grand Canal Looking Down to the Rialto Bridge. c. 1758-63. Oil on canvas. Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Germany.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. The Campo di Rialto. c. 1758-63. Oil on canvas. Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Germany.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Santa Maria della Salute Seen from the Grand Canal. 1730. Oil on canvas. Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Germany
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Capitol Square in Rome. c. 1749. Oil on canvas. Szepmuveseti Muzeum, Budapest, Hungary.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Grand Canal: the Rialto Bridge from the South. c. 1727. Oil on canvas. c. 1727. Oil on copper. Viscount Coke, Holkman Hall, Norfolk, UK
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Church of St. Antony and St. Phaustina in Rome. c. 1749. Oil on canvas. Szepmuveseti Muzeum, Budapest, Hungary.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Grand Canal: The Stonemason's Yard; Santa Maria della Carità from the Campo San Vidal. c. 1728. Oil on canvas. National Gallery, London, UK.
	*CANALETTO* Canaletto. Piazza San Marco: the Clocktower. c. 1730. Oil on canvas. Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, MO, USA.

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CANALETTO