Prior to the advent of photography, scene painting was the way by which society communicated the beautiful and interesting sights of far-off lands, perhaps the equivalent of today’s vacation slide show.
On October 1697, the well-known scene painter Giovanni Antonio Canale, known as “Canaletto” was born in Venice.
He was likely dubbed “Canaletto,” which means the “little Canale,” to distinguish him from his father Bernardo Canale, who was a painter of theatrical scenery. Canaletto is well-known today for the cityscape views (“vedute” in Italian) he painted of Venice, particularly of the Doge’s Palace and the Grand Canal.
