Venice: The Basin of San Marco on Ascension Day

Giovanni Antonio Canal (17 or 18 October 1697 – 19 April 1768), better known as Canaletto, was a Venetian painter of highly detailed landscapes or vistas. He was born in Venice as the son of the painter Bernardo Canal, hence his mononym Canaletto ("little Canal”). Much of Canaletto's early artwork was painted "from nature", differing from the then customary practice of completing paintings in the studio. His paintings are always notable for their accuracy, recording the seasonal submerging of Venice in water and ice as well as later painting grand scenes of the canals of Venice and the Doge's Palace. His large-scale landscapes portrayed the city's pageantry and waning traditions, making innovative use of atmospheric effects and strong local colours. For these qualities, his works may be said to have anticipated Impressionism.

Many of his pictures were sold to Englishmen on their Grand Tour, but in the 1740s his market was disrupted when the War of the Austrian Succession led to a reduction in the number of British visitors to Venice, forcing Canaletto to move to London in 1746 to be closer to his market. He remained in England until 1755, producing views of London, including several of the new Westminster Bridge, which was completed during his stay. His 1754 painting of Old Walton Bridge includes an image of Canaletto himself.

Canaletto's painting began to suffer from repetitiveness, losing its fluidity, and becoming mechanical to the point that the English art critic George Vertue suggested that the man painting under the name 'Canaletto' was an impostor. The artist was compelled to give public painting demonstrations in order to refute this claim; however, his reputation never fully recovered in his lifetime. Read more information about the artist on his Wikipedia page Canaletto.