Canaletto

Canaletto (känälĕt`tō), 1697–1768, Venetian painter, whose original name was Antonio Canal. He studied with his father, Bernardo Canal, a theatrical scene painter, and spent several years in Rome. Returning to Venice, he devoted himself to painting the linear, dramatic, and topographically accurate Venetian scenes upon which his fame chiefly rests. From 1746 to 1755 he lived in England and produced many fine landscapes, notably those of Eton College. He painted series of picturesque views for English collectors, one of which is in the collection of the Duke of Bedford. Canaletto is unsurpassed as an architectural painter. His works are finely detailed yet delicate and airy. Among his notable works are View on the Grand Canal and Regatta on the Grand Canal (National Gall., London); Church of Santa Maria Della Salute (Louvre); View of Venice (Uffizi); and The Piazzetta, Venice (Metropolitan Mus.). He was a master draftsman and produced many superb drawings and etchings that were not preparatory but complete in themselves. Examples of Canaletto's works are in the major European and American collections. His nephew and pupil, Bernardo Bellotto, was also called Canaletto.

Bibliography

See studies by V. Moschini (tr. 1956) and W. G. Constable (1961, 2d ed. rev. 1989).

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Canaletto

 orig. Giovanni Antonio Canal

(born Oct. 18, 1697, Venice, Republic of Venice—died April 20, 1768, Venice) Italian painter and etcher. He was trained in the studio of his father, a theatrical scene painter. From 1719 to 1720 he worked in Rome, painting scenes for operas, until he turned to painting topographical images. After his return to Venice, he produced the picturesque views (vedute) that would bring him international fame. His pictures provide dramatic views of Venetian architecture and demonstrate skill in rendering sunlight and shadow. In the 1730s he was kept busy meeting foreign visitors' demand for souvenir views of Venice. When the War of the Austrian Succession made foreign visitors scarce, he expanded his output to include imaginative views of Roman ruins, and in 1746 he went to England to paint views of London and the great English country houses. In 1763 he was elected to the Venetian Academy. The most famous topographical painter of the 18th century, he influenced succeeding generations of landscape artists. He is not to be confused with his nephew Bernardo Bellotto, also known as Canaletto.