The Grand Canal, Piazzetta and Dogana, Venice
Antonio Canaletto (Venice 1697 - Venice 1768)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1730
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
597 x 1029 mm (23 1/2 x 40 1/2 in)
Place of origin
Venice
Order this imageCollection
Tatton Park, Cheshire
NT 1298203
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, The Grand Canal, Piazzetta and Dogana, Venice by Canaletto (Venice 1697 – Venice 1768), 1730. On the left is Santa Maria della Salute; on the right the column of Saint Theodore and next to it, the Libreria, Zecca, and the Granai (State Granary), which was demolished in Napoleonic times and is today the site of the Giardinetto Reale. The low building beyond is the restored Magistrato della Farina, which now serves as the Capitaneria di Porto. The rectangular tower in the distance, which no longer exists, was once a feature of Palazzo Venier della Torresella. Painted for Samuel Hill (Samuel Egerton's uncle) in 1730.
Full description
This picture and Canaletto's 'The Doge's Palace and Riva degli Schiavoni, Venice' (NT 1298196) are those referred to by Joseph Smith, later the English Consul in Venice, and Samuel Egerton in letter written to Samuel hill, Egerton's uncle and guardian who was responsible for installing him as apprentice to Smith in 1729. Persistence was evidently required when dealing with Canaletto: Smith wrote to Samuel Hill, 17 July 1730, 'At last I've got Canal under articles to finish your 2 pieces within a twelvemonth'; and Samuel Egerton to Samuel Hill, 15 December 1730, '(Smith) has att last prevailed with Canal to lay aside all other business till he had finished the 2 pictures you order'd when you were last here.' See Bartolomeo Nazari's portrait of Samuel Egerton (NT 1298199), who played a role in the acquisition of this painting and its companion for his uncle.
Provenance
The commission was negotiated by Consul Joseph Smith for his friend Samuel Hill in 1730; to his nephew Samuel Egerton; thence by descent; bequeathed by Maurice Egerton, 4th Baron Egerton of Tatton (1874 - 1958) to the National Trust with the house, gardens and contents of Tatton Park
Credit line
Tatton Park, The Egerton Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
CANALETTO (painted on a plaque at the base of frame)
Makers and roles
Antonio Canaletto (Venice 1697 - Venice 1768) , artist
Exhibition history
The Treasure Houses of Britain, National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA, 1985 - 1986, no.168 Souvenirs of the Grand Tour, Wildenstein, London, 1982, no.17
References
Constable and Links 1976 W. G. Constable and J. G. Links (revised), Canaletto 1697 - 1768, 2 vols. Oxford, 1976, no. 197
