Warwick Castle: The East Front1752
Canaletto spent nearly a decade in England from 1746, when war had cut off the flow of British travellers to Venice. More about this work
About this work
Canaletto spent nearly a decade in England from 1746, when war had cut off the flow of British travellers to Venice. Among his patrons there was Lord Brooke, owner of Warwick Castle, of which he made several views. In this drawing of the castle’s east front, crisp pen lines define the towers and walls while grey wash lays in shadow and gives the medieval masonry its bulk.
Written by Ochre Editions.
How it was made
- Pen and ink
- Drawn with a quill or reed pen, often with wash added by brush to model light and shadow.
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
- 1975.1.297
- Credit
- Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Type
- Drawings
- Department
- Robert Lehman Collection
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
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