1600’s Etching of Cityscape of Giovanni Antonio Canal (Canaletto) Etching of Prato Della Venice Italy 1697 - 1768

Description

Lovely etching on paper in back ink by Giovanni Antonio Canal (Canaletto).

Measurements:
22" x 15"
Hand-numbered in pencil at … more Lovely etching on paper in back ink by Giovanni Antonio Canal (Canaletto).

Measurements:
22" x 15"
Hand-numbered in pencil at the bottom right with the number 6.

Part of a collection found in a folio with the bookplate that reads:

French:
"Les Eaux-Fortes D/ Antonio Canal
Reproduites à 250 exemplaires
Fernand De Nobele, Paris
Exemplaire
60"

English:
"The Strong Waters' Antonio Canal
Reproduced in 250 copies
Fernand De Nobele, Paris
Copy 60"

Description:
An etching of the Prato della Valle in Padua, the large square in Padua which is now called the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. On the left-hand side of the Prato is the Scuola delle Comari, the church of Santa Giustina and its monastery. Many figures and horse-drawn carriages are depicted in the square.

Inscribed at lower left: A Canal f.
At lower center: S. Giustina in prà della Valle.
At lower right in pencil "6".

Canaletto and his nephew Bernardo Bellotto began to experiment with etching in the early 1740s, an enterprise that has often been attributed to the decline in visitors to Venice and commissions following the War of Austrian Succession. Many of Canaletto's prints take their subject matter from the locks, sluice gates, and summerhouses along the Brenta Canal towards Padua; others are entirely imaginary. Canaletto made just thirty-three etchings in total, etched on plates of two different sizes (about 30 x 42cm and 14 x 21cm), several prints include titles, but only one is dated, to 1741. Thirty-one of the prints were published together sometime after 1744 as Vedute alle prese da i luoghi altre ideate (Views, some taken from nature, others imaginary).

The title plate is dedicated to ‘Signor Giuseppe Smith, Console di S. M. Britanico’, who was appointed to the position of Consul that year; the set was probably issued before the artist left for England in 1746. Smith possibly commissioned and financed Canaletto’s experiments.

Original Etcher/Creator:
Canaletto (Venice 1697-Venice 1768)

Platemark:
16.75" Wide
11.75" Tall

Signed on Plate.

Etched onto Van Gelder paper. less