Canaletto eigentlich Bernardo Bellotto#
b. Venice (Italy), Jan. 30, 1721, d. Warsaw (Poland), Oct. 17, 1780, Italian painter. Student of his famous uncle, Antonio Canal, whose name he adopted. After having lived in different parts of Italy he moved to Munich in 1745, to Dresden in 1746/47 and came to Vienna in 1759/60. Was commissioned by Maria Theresia to paint a series of 13 large size vedute showing views of famous Viennese squares and Imperial summer palaces. His paintings are typified by the combination of a picturesque atmosphere and an exact depiction of details of high documentary value. In 1770 C. became Court painter to King Stanislaw II in Warsaw. C. made the highly developed form of veduta painting from Venice popular in Central Europe.
Literature#
S. Kozakiewicz, B. Bellotto, 2 vols., 1972.