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Canaletto
Giovanni Antonio Canal
(1697-1768)
Canaletto
(Giovanni Antonio Canal) (1697-1768).
Venetian painter, the most famous view-painter of the 18th century.
He began work painting theatrical scenery (his father's profession),
but he turned to topography during a visit to Rome in 1719-20, when he
was influenced by the work of
Giovanni Paolo Panini.
By 1723 he was painting dramatic and picturesque views of Venice, marked
by strong contrasts of light and shade and free handling, this phase of
his work culminating in the splendid Stone Mason's Yard
(National Gallery, London, c. 1730).
Meanwhile, partly under the influence of Luca Carlevaris, and largely
in rivalry with him, Canaletto began to turn out views which were more
topographically accurate, set in a higher key, and with smoother, more
precise handling characteristics that mark most of his later work.
At the same time he began painting the ceremonial and festival subjects
which ultimately formed an important part of his work.
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