The Stonemason's Yard

Canaletto painted this view of Venice around 1725, early in his work in oil. The scene centres on the Campo San Vidal, where a temporary stonemason's yard is shaping and carving stone, probably for the rebuilding of the church of San Vidal or for the decoration of a nearby palazzo. Across the Grand Canal, the side of Santa Maria della Carità rises in the background. Beyond the architecture, the painting is valued for its everyday life: laundry strung from windows, potted plants on balconies, a woman spinning on a balcony, another drawing water from a well, and two children in the foreground, one of whom is tumbling and wetting himself in surprise. The canvas is unsigned and undated, so its date rests on stylistic clues that mix features of Canaletto's early and mature manner. It is also a very early use of Prussian blue in oil painting. It is thought to have been commissioned by a Venetian patron rather than a foreign visitor. It is now in the National Gallery, London.

Painter

Giovanni Antonio Canal

Date

1725

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

124 × 163 cm

Museum

National Gallery, London

Genre

Veduta

Depicts

campiello San Vidal, Santa Maria della Carità, Grand Canal

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