View on the Grand Canal is the most important eighteenth-century painting in our gallery. In fact, it's one of the few undisputed Canalettos in an English municipal collection. So we're very proud to display it here at Ferens Art Gallery.
The painting is one of Canaletto's best early works, which tend to have more atmosphere, light and shadow. The details are richly painted and lively figures populate the scene.
About Canaletto
Canaletto was the most prolific Venetian vedutista – view-painters whose work depicted great cities like Rome or Venice. He made many paintings of the Grand Canal besides this one. Each one was from a slightly different viewpoint but used the same distinctive perspective. Accurate paintings like these were in demand by wealthy patrons at the time, who wanted souvenirs of their Grand Tours of Italy. Later in his career, Canaletto applied a similar treatment to scenes of the Thames in London.
How we acquired this painting
View on the Grand Canal was bequeathed to the gallery by Muriel Thetis Warde (formerly Wilson), the daughter of Hull’s leading shipping family.
