View on the Cannaregio Canal, Venice
c. 1775-1780
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 50 x 76.8 cm (19 11/16 x 30 1/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CIS-B
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Samuel H. Kress Collection
Accession Number
1939.1.113
Art Historical Context
Step into the shimmering waterways of 18th-century Venice with Francesco Guardi's *View on the Cannaregio Canal Venice* (c. 1775–1780). This oil canvas, measuring 50 x 76.8 cm, captures a serene slice of the Cannaregio district—a quieter, residential canal away from the Grand Canal's bustle. Guardi, a leading figure in the Venetian veduta tradition, painted during Venice's twilight as a maritime republic, evoking its fading grandeur amid political decline and economic shifts. Guardi's mastery shines in his loose, atmospheric brushwork, which infuses the scene with luminous reflections on wate...
About the Artist
Francesco Guardi · 1712–1793
Francesco Lazzaro Guardi (1712–1793) was born into a noble family of painters from Trentino who had settled in Venice. His father, Domenico Guardi, a minor painter trained in Vienna, died in 1716, leaving young Francesco to inherit the family workshop alongside his brothers Giovanni Antonio (Gian Antonio) and Niccolò, both artists, and sister Maria Cecilia, who married the renowned Giovanni Battis...