Venice, The Grand Canal
Canaletto's works were frequently copied, either direct from the originals, or copies made after copies by imitators from many different countries. There are two closely related versions of this scene which have been unanimously attributed to Canaletto. One is held in the collections of Woburn Abbey and the other, which is closer in composition to this picture, belongs to a private collector in Milan. He made many paintings of the Grand Canal, from slightly different viewpoints, but employing the same distinct perspective. His almost constant re-working of the same subject matter helps to make his work familiar to modern audiences. Canaletto was the most prolific of the Venetian vedutista or view painters, whose work focused on towns like Rome and Venice. Accurate paintings were in demand by patrons as souvenirs of their 'Grand Tours' of Italy. Later in his career the artist painted scenes in London too.
