The Bishop's Tomb, from Vedute
1735/44
Medium
Etching in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 21.8 × 13 cm (8 5/8 × 5 1/8 in.); Plate: 22.1 × 13.1 cm (8 3/4 × 5 3/16 in.); Sheet: 43.2 × 58.7 cm (17 1/16 × 23 1/8 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
159749
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Unlike painting, printmaking allowed Canaletto to separate and combine images at his own discretion. He etched the outer two vignettes (1922.1381.10 and .12) on a single plate before cutting it in two. Then he reversed their order and positioned a third, unrelated segment seen here between them. This plate is the missing piece from View of a Town with a Bishop’s Tomb (1922.1381.8). Besides reusing fragments of larger plates, these mysterious composite prints appear to have little in common beyon...
About the Artist
Canaletto · 1697–1768
The most famous view-painter of the 18th century, Canaletto's works are characteristically topographically correct with smooth, precise handling. His patrons were primarily English collectors.