Detail of Lock, Column, and Church beside a Lagoon by Canaletto in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 2022

Title: A Lock, a Column, and a Church beside a Lagoon

Artist: Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) (Italian, Venice 1697–1768 Venice)

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 20 × 26 5/8 in. (50.8 × 67.6 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Bequest of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2019

Accession Number: 2019.141.6


In addition to actual views, Canaletto also painted imaginary ones (he called them vedute ideate). Many date to the early 1740s, when he visited mainland Venice with his nephew Bernardo Bellotto (1722–1780), who also excelled at view painting. The originality of these pictures—and this is one of the finest—resides in the abstract design, quality of light, and combination of buildings. Unlike in Canaletto’s conventional views, in this land- and seascape none of the churches, columns, or other structures are identifiable.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/438105