View of the Doge’s Palace in Venice, Antonio Canal (Canaletto)

Description of the picture:

View of the Doge’s Palace in Venice – Antonio Canal (Canaletto). Until 1755. Oil on canvas. 51×83

   In Venice of the 18th century, the Veduts, i.e. images of urban species, were popular. This tradition dates back to the art of 15th century artists Gentile Bellini and Vittore Carpaccio. But if for them both the person and the city were equal, then for the masters of the Venetian Vedut, the main thing was the city.

   One of the best representatives of this genre is Canaletto. He loved to draw a vast space where Venice fit between water and sky, and often depicted the lagoon, the Cathedral of San Marco, the Doge’s Palace. The buildings in this picture are reflected in the water and “look” into the sky. If another master of the Vedut, Francesco Guardi, everything seems to be saturated in the canvases of the canals and the nearby sea, then Canaletto has three elements – water, earth and air – are equivalent. His land is not a shaky strip at the edge of the waters, the architecture looks solemnly revealing itself, and everything is united by the golden light pouring from heaven onto the blessed land of Serenissima – the Most Serene, as Venice is called."