The Grand Canal, Venice. Artist: Canaletto.

The Grand Canal, Venice.

Artist: Canaletto.

Text and Illustration: BING.COM

The 18th-Century Italian artist Canaletto never tired of views of his home town, Venice. Neither, it seems, did those who purchased his paintings.

This view of The Grand Canal is one of twenty paintings of Venice that Canaletto produced for just one client.

Many other paintings and etchings of the great City can be found within the prolific artist’s works, but Canaletto did venture beyond Italy, painting many views of London after he moved there for a few years.

Canaletto was renowned and successful in his day and, not too surprisingly, is classed as an important member of The Venetian School.

“The Grand Canal, Venice. Looking South-East. With the Campo della Carità to the Right”, by Canaletto, is in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,

unless stated otherwise.

Giovanni Antonio Canal (18 October 1697 – 19 April 1768),[1] commonly known as “Canaletto”, was an Italian Painter, from the Republic of Venice, considered an important member of the 18th-Century Venetian School.

Painter of City views, or “Vedute” [Editor: “views”], of Venice, Rome, and London, he also painted imaginary views (referred to as “Capricci”), although the demarcation in his works between the real and the imaginary is never quite clear-cut.[3]

He was further an important Printmaker using the Etching technique. In the period from 1746 to 1756, he worked in England, where he painted many views of London and other sites, including Warwick Castle and Alnwick Castle.[4]

He was highly successful in England, thanks to the British merchant and connoisseur Joseph “Consul” Smith, whose collection of Canaletto’s works was sold to King George III in 1762.[3]