CANALETTO
(b. 1697, Venezia, d. 1768, Venezia)

Venice: The Grand Canal, Looking North-East from Palazzo Balbi to the Rialto Bridge

c. 1724
Oil on canvas, 87 x 139 cm
Private collection

The view is taken from the Palazzo Foscari on the sharp bend in the Grand Canal, known as the Volta de Canal, roughly equidistant from its entrance onto the Bacino di San Marco and the Rialto Bridge. Looking North-East from there the whole of the longest straight stretch of the canal is visible, as far as the Rialto Bridge, part of which is shown in the far distance, with the roof and dome of the church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo beyond.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 3 minutes):
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: Songs without Words op. 30 No. 5 (Venetian gondola song)