Canaletto

Giovanni Antonio Canal, called Canaletto (October 1697 Venice - 19 or 20 April 1768 Venice) was an Italian painter and engraver, a typical representative of Venetian Illusionism of the 18th century. He created hundreds of Venetian vedutas based on reality. Later he also painted ideal landscapes combined with real scenes. He brought topographical painting of city vedutas to its peak. 

Antonio Canal was born into the family of Bernardo Canal, a Venetian painter of stage sets, and Artemisia Barbieri. Together with his brother Christoforo, they became their father's collaborators, as evidenced by the designs for the sets installed in Venice (1716-1718) and later in Rome (1719), where they prepared the performances of two of Scarlatti's operas. In Rome, Canaletto was influenced by the cityscapes painted there by Gaspar van Wittel (1653-1736) and Giovanni Paolo Pannini (1691-1765). He returned to Venice in 1720, joined the painters' guild and became an independent artist. In 1722, he signed a contract with the Englishman Owen McSwiney, for the first time using the surname 'Canaletto'. This contract resulted in a series of fictitious paintings of important figures in modern English history. Around the same time, Canaletto became friends with another Englishman, Joseph Smith, who later became the English consul in Venice (from 1744). From then on, Canaletto's work was mainly directed towards English patrons.

Between 1725 and 1730 he painted 24 pictures for the Duke of Bedford, 20 for the Duke of Buckingham and 17 for the Earl of Carlisle. Little information about Canaletto's life survives from the following decade. However, this was the period of the painter's greatest output. It is thought that Canaletto was in Rome in 1742. This is evidenced by paintings of the Roman Forum and the triumphal arches. Between 1741 and 1744, Canaletto produced a series of 35 etchings. However, the wars of the Austrian succession (1740-1748) greatly reduced the number of English aristocrats visiting Venice. Canaletto's commissions dwindled, which was the main reason for his English tour. During Canaletto's stay in London (1746-1755), he produced a series of views of the city. Canaletto returned to Venice in 1755. Over the next few years, he produced a series of works that led to his acceptance into the Venetian Academy of Painting and Sculpture. For this purpose, he painted a canvas with a fictitious subject (the so-called capriccio) entitled Architectural Perspective (1765). Canaletto's last known dated work dates from 1766. The painter died in Venice on 19 or 20 April 1768. He was buried in the Venetian church of San Lio, where he had been baptised in 1697.