London: Westminster Abbey, with a Procession of Knights of the Bath

This oil on canvas, dated 1749, is the work of the Italian painter Canaletto, a leading figure of vedutismo, the genre devoted to highly precise views of cities. The scene shows Westminster Abbey in London together with a procession of Knights of the Bath. The composition blends architectural observation with the depiction of a solemn ceremony, so that the building and the procession share the focus of the image. The painting also has a distinctive later history: its commission is associated with 1792, and for a long time it hung in the residence of the Dean of Westminster Abbey. In 2020 it went on public display for the first time at the Abbey itself, in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries, allowing visitors to see it close to its original setting. Its interest lies both in Canaletto's exact recording of the urban space and in the documentary value of a ceremonial event linked to the Abbey.

Painter

Giovanni Antonio Canal

Date

1749

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

99 × 102 cm

Museum

Westminster Abbey

Genre

Veduta

Depicts

Westminster Abbey

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