  About the Artwork
  
  
  Canaletto specialized in views of his native city, Venice, working for a devoted and often foreign clientele. This view toward the west end of the Piazza San Marco is typical of the artist's "improvements on nature" by showing in one picture both the Campanile and the Torre dell' Orologio. In actuality these two landmarks, shown framing the left and right edges of the composition, cannot be seen simultaneously from one position. Furthermore, the artist has adopted a slightly elevated viewpoint, which reinforces the perspective lines created by the paving stones. This painting is an important historical document, for it shows what the piazza looked like before alterations were ordered by Napoleon in the early nineteenth century.
  
  
  Title
  The Piazza San Marco
  
  
  Artwork Date
  ca. 1739
  
  Artist
  Canaletto
  
  
  
  Life Dates
  1697-1768
  
  
  
  
  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  Italian
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Oil on canvas
  
  
  Dimensions
  Unframed: 29 13/16 × 46 15/16 inches (75.8 × 119.3 cm)
  Framed: 44 5/8 × 57 3/4  × 4 inches (113.3 × 146.7 × 10.2 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Paintings
  
  
  Department
  European Painting
  
  
  Credit
  Founders Society Purchase, General Membership Fund and funds from Edsel B. Ford
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  43.38
  
  
  Copyright
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