Object Image

The Piazzetta, Venice, with the Campanile under Repair

Perhaps one of the most famous views of Venice, by one of the most famous view-painters of his time, this scene depicts an incident that shook the calm of the Serenissima in 1745. It was 23 April – St George’s Day – when a thunderbolt struck the Campanile of San Marco, causing severe damage to this iconic Venetian landmark.

 The only known painting by Canaletto to depict this incident, the work in the A. G. Leventis Gallery collection has been dated by Charles Beddington to Canaletto’s years in London, where the artist had taken refuge in the 1740s: a time when war in Europe had reduced the flow of Grand Tourists to Venice, and the prolific painter moved to London to be closer to his market. C...

between 1746–55
oil on canvas
75.0 x 66.0cm
453
Text & Image © A. G. Leventis Galllery

Where you'll find this

A. G. Leventis Gallery
Permanent collection