The Piazzetta, Venice, Looking North
c. 1740
On View

Canaletto began his career as a scene painter in the Baroque theater, designing sets for operas. When he took up landscape, specifically cityscape, he maintained the most appealing qualities of theatrical illusion. Combining a keen interest in linear perspective with a limited palette, Canaletto depicted Venice from every possible vantage point, including this elevated view of the Piazzetta, which leads to the immense Piazza San Marco. The almost photographic impression of the scene results from Canaletto’s arrangement of highly structured forms, such as the white marble pavement design before the Marciana Library, at left, and the artful repetition of architectural elements, with their emphasis on receding horizontal and diagonal lines that converge on a single point: the Torre dell’Orologio.

Details

  • Artist Name: Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) (Italian, 1697-1768)
  • Title: The Piazzetta, Venice, Looking North
  • Date: c. 1740
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 29-7/8 x 47-1/8 in. (75.9 x 119.7 cm)
  • Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
  • Accession Number: F.1964.2.P
  • Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation

Object Information

Henry Fiennes Pelham Clinton (d. 1794), 2nd Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Clumber Park, Nottingham, by inheritance to;
Thomas (d. 1795), 3rd Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire, by inheritance to;
Henry Pelham Pelham-Clinton (d. 1851), 4th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Clumber Park, Nottingham, by inheritance to;
Henry Pelham Pelham-Clinton (d. 1864), 5th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Clumber Park, Nottingham, by inheritance to;
Henry Pelham Pelham-Clinton (d. 1879), 6th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Clumber Park, Nottingham, by inheritance to;
Henry Pelham Archibald Douglas Pelham-Clinton (d. 1928), 7th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Clumber Park, Nottingham, by inheritance to his nephew;
The Earl of Lincoln, Clumber Park, Worksop, Nottinghamshire (sale, London, Christie’s, 4 June 1937, lot 17, ill., as The Piazzetta of St. Marks, Venice, to);
[Frank Sabin, London];
Thomas Parrington, sold through;
[Arthur Tooth & Sons, London, sold July 1964 to];
The Norton Simon Foundation.

[on loan]

  • London, British Institution, 1853-06 to
  • McCorquodale, Charles, The Connoisseur,fig. C pp. 210-212
  • Illustrated London News, p. 1006
  • Renato Miracco, Italian Treasures in the U.S. An Itinerary of Art,2014, p. #43
  • Willis, F. Roy, Western Civilization: An Urban Perspective, cover
  • Constable, W. G., Canaletto: Giovanni Antonio Canal, 1697-1768,no. 66 pp. 210-211
  • Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best,2010, cat. 229 p. 273
  • Norton Simon Museum, Selected Paintings at the Norton Simon Museum,1980, p. 70
  • Seldis, Henry J., Art in America, pp. 96, 100
  • Understanding Paintings: Themes in Art Explored and Explained, pp. 16, 177
  • Pignatti, Terisio, Canaletto,no. 35
  • Bindman, David; and Lionello Puppi, The Complete Paintings of Canaletto,no. 86D p. 98
  • Corboz, André, Venezia immaginaria del Canaletto, p. ?
  • Brommer, Gerald F.; and Nancy Kinne, Exploring Painting, p. 188
  • Morse, John D., Old Master Paintings in North America,1979, p. 44
  • Constable, W. G., Canaletto: Giovanni Antonio Canal, 1697-1768, pp. 210-211, 217-218
  • Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum,1989, p. 101
  • Catalogue of the pictures, being part of the Clumber Collection,
  • Fondazione Bracco, Il Vedutismo Venziano: Una Nuova Visione,2011, Fig. 16 p. 92
Listen
Audio Tour
English | Español
Read
Audio Tour Transcript
English | Español
Escuchar
Audioguía
English | Español
Leer
Transcripción de Audioguía
English | Español

Image reproduction permission may be granted for scholarly or arts related commercial use. All image requests, regardless of their intended purpose, should be submitted via the reproduction request form.

Images may be protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights. Additional permission may be required.

Approved requests for the reproduction of an image will receive a contract detailing all fees and conditions of use of the image. Upon receipt of both the signed contract and full payment, the Office of Rights and Reproductions will provide the image. A complimentary copy of the published material must be provided to the Norton Simon Museum.

Reproduction Request Form