Canaletto painted Venice the way the city wanted to be remembered — bathed in even, silvery light, every gondola and campanile rendered with an almost architectural precision that made his views wildly popular with English aristocrats completing their Grand Tour. Many bought his paintings as the eighteenth-century equivalent of a postcard: proof they had truly been there, in the most beautiful city in the world.
This view of the canal's entrance, with the Dogana and the dome of Santa Maria della Salute anchoring the horizon, remains one of the most serene and legible of his compositions. A horizontal made for above a sofa or a long sideboard, it is a sure bet for a classic, moneyed interior — and, taken as a pair with its companion view, an instant statement of old-world grandeur.
c. 1742/1744 · Oil on canvas, fine-art reproduction · Original held at National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Limited · Hand-numbered · Certificate of authenticity
