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Imaginary View of Venice, houses at left with figures on terraces, a domed church at center in the background, boats and boat-sheds below, and a seated man observing from a wall at right in the foreground, from "Views" (Vedute altre prese da i luoghi altre ideate da Antonio Canal)

Dedicatee Joseph Smith British
1741
Not on view
Venice in the eighteenth century was the site of an extraordinary flourishing of print production, which reached its apogee in the years 1740–45. It was in these years that Canaletto, the great painter of views of Venice and also of England during his sojourn there, made approximately thirty etchings: thirteen large plates and seventeen smaller ones. The title plate to the series states that these are 'Views, some representing actual sites, others imaginary.' This is one of the imaginary views, reminiscent of Venice and the lagoon. For an unknown reason, Canaletto divided this plate down the middle, between the backs of the two central figures, soon after it was made. Fewer than ten impressions are known from the undivided plate. The date, 1741 in Roman numerals on the wall at the left, is the only one on any of Canaletto's prints.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Imaginary View of Venice, houses at left with figures on terraces, a domed church at center in the background, boats and boat-sheds below, and a seated man observing from a wall at right in the foreground, from "Views" (Vedute altre prese da i luoghi altre ideate da Antonio Canal)
  • Series/Portfolio: Views (Vedute altre prese da i luoghi altre ideate da Antonio Canal)
  • Artist: Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) (Italian, Venice 1697–1768 Venice)
  • Dedicatee: Joseph Smith (British, ca. 1674–1770)
  • Date: 1741
  • Medium: Etching; undivided plate, only state
  • Dimensions: Sheet (Trimmed): 11 13/16 × 17 3/16 in. (30 × 43.7 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Gift of Mary V.T. Eberstadt and Bequest of Gertrude Moira Flanagan, by exchange, 1973
  • Object Number: 1973.634
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Woman drawing water from a well beneath an arcade at left, with a landscape at right, Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) Italian, Etching
Woman drawing water from a well beneath an arcade at left, with a landscape at right
Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal)
1717–68
Piazza San Marco with the Procuratie Nuove on the left and the church of San Geminiano in the background, Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) Italian, Etching
Piazza San Marco with the Procuratie Nuove on the left and the church of San Geminiano in the background
Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal)
1735–46
The market on the Molo in Venice, Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) Italian, Etching
The market on the Molo in Venice
Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal)
1735–46
The façade of the Palazzo Ducale, Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) Italian, Etching
The façade of the Palazzo Ducale
Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal)
1735–46
Le porte del Dolo: the oval basin of the locks at Dolo, with a barge moored to the quay, Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) Italian, Etching; third state of three (Bromberg)
Le porte del Dolo: the oval basin of the locks at Dolo, with a barge moored to the quay
Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal)
1735–46

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