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A Lock, a Column, and a Church beside a Lagoon

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 644
In addition to views of real sites, Canaletto painted imaginary ones (he called them “ideal views”). Many date to the early 1740s, when he visited mainland Venice with his nephew Bernardo Bellotto, who also excelled at view painting. The originality of these paintings resides in their abstract design, quality of light, and combination of buildings. Unlike in Canaletto’s conventional views, none of the churches, columns, or other structures can be identified.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: A Lock, a Column, and a Church beside a Lagoon
  • Artist: Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) (Italian, Venice 1697–1768 Venice)
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 20 × 26 5/8 in. (50.8 × 67.6 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2019
  • Object Number: 2019.141.6
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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Piazza San Marco, Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) Italian, Oil on canvas
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Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, Marie Gabrielle Capet (1761–1818) and Marie Marguerite Carraux de Rosemond (1765–1788), Adélaïde Labille-Guiard French, Oil on canvas
Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, Marie Gabrielle Capet (1761–1818) and Marie Marguerite Carraux de Rosemond (1765–1788)
Adélaïde Labille-Guiard
1785
Warwick Castle: The East Front, Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) Italian, Pen and brown ink, gray wash
Warwick Castle: The East Front
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1752
Armor, Steel, copper alloy, textile, leather, Italian
Armor
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ca. 1400–1450 and later

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