Canaletto

Giovanni Antonio Canal (1697-1768), better known as Canaletto, was a Venetian artist famous for his landscapes of Venice. His father was a theatrical scene painter, which is where Canaletto was introduced to painting as an apprentice. Inspired by the Roman landscape painter, Giovanni Paolo Pannini, Canaletto started painting the daily life of the city and its people. His early works show a poetic responsiveness to the light, atmosphere, and moods of Venice, along with an eye for striking compositions that stayed with him for life. After staying in England for ten years, Canaletto gave up his small Venetian views in 1756 and turned to grandeur and fantasy, broadening his subject matter to include views of Rome. He also evolved an increasingly linear, firm manner that suited his clients' demands for accuracy and was more readily taught to assistants. He provided numerous drawings for engravers. Except for his nephew Bernardo Bellotto, none of Canaletto's many pupils are known, but he was widely imitated in both Venice and England during his lifetime.