Piazza San Marcolate 1720s
Canaletto painted this in the late 1720s, aged about 30. It is now at The Met in New York. More about this work
About this work
Canaletto painted this in the late 1720s, aged about 30. It is now at The Met in New York.
How it was made
- Oil paint
- Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.
Canaletto
Italian, 1697–1768 · Born and died in Venice.
Canaletto, the son of a Venetian painter of theatre scenery, turned in the 1720s to painting views of his native city and became its leading vedutista. British travellers on the Grand Tour were his most eager patrons, many through the merchant and consul Joseph Smith. When war cut off that trade he went to England, working there from 1746 to the mid-1750s on views of London and country houses such as Warwick Castle. He also made a set of etchings that includes imaginary views.
Written by Ochre Editions.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Met has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 1988.162
- Credit
- Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Type
- Paintings
- Department
- European Paintings
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
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