Grand Canal: The Rialto Bridge from the South

Canaletto generally favoured painting on canvas, but he also executed nine small works with copper supports, of which this is a fine example. Beaten copper sheets provided a very smooth surface upon which to paint, and were usually used by artists concerned with depicting fine details. The companion picture to this work, also in the same collection, shows the Grand Canal Looking East.

The dominant hues and tones are warmer and lighter than in the artist’s earlier paintings, and as such mark the direction his work was increasingly to take. The topography is accurate and the site a famous one - a combination particularly favoured by English Grand Tourists.