Venice: The Grand Canal With S. Simeone Piccolo By Canaletto At The National Gallery In London 2024. Editorial Image

Venice: The Grand Canal with S. Simeone Piccolo by Canaletto at the National Gallery in London 2024. Canaletto’s sweeping view takes in everyday life on the Grand Canal. A stout helmsman stands aboard a finely decorated passenger barge to the left, while fishermen draw their nets in the centre. A boat carrying two women seems about to collide with one of the fishing vessels.Across the canal to the left is the imposing church of San Simeone Piccolo, with its green copper dome. The church was inaugurated in April 1738, and Canaletto probably painted this view sometime afterwards – though there’s still a workmen’s hut beside the steps. Women and children gather nearby, and several other figures take a look at the new church.