Venice: Canaletto and his rivals

Visenti, 'Portrait of Canaletto' London, The British Museum © The British Museum, London

This exhibition presents the finest assembly of Venetian views since the much-celebrated display in Venice in 1967. It features works by Canaletto and all the major practitioners of the genre.

Remarkably, considering the dominant role of British patronage in this art form, 'Venice: Canaletto and His Rivals' is the first exhibition of its kind to be organised in the UK.

Bringing together approximately 55 major loans from public and private collections across Europe and North America, the exhibition highlights the rich variety of Venetian view painting.

Works on display

In each room, major works by Canaletto are juxtaposed with those of his rivals and associates, to demonstrate different approaches to similar views of the city.

Major rivals on display include Luca Carlevarijs, Gaspar van Witell, Michele Marieschi, Bernardo Bellotto, and Francesco Guardi. Also represented are less well-known painters, each responding to the market driven largely by the British Grand Tour.

The exhibition includes many of Canaletto’s greatest masterpieces, including ‘The Riva degli Schiavoni, looking West’ (Sir John Soane’s Museum, London), The Stonemason’s Yard (The National Gallery, London), and four of the finest works from the Royal Collection.

Related pages

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  Antonio Canaletto

  Antonio Canaletto, 1697 - 1768, was and 18th century Italian painter.

  Painting, 18th century

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