A drawing of the Piazzetta in Venice. On the left is the eastern facade of the Libreria. Beyond is the Campanile and Loggetta. Across Piazza San Marco is the Torre dell'Orologio. In the right foreground is San Marco, and part of the column of San Teodoro.

The view is ostensibly taken from the edge of the Molo, the quay running in front of the Palazzo Ducale, Piazzetta, Libreria and Zecca. To the left is the south front of the Libreria, the library of San Marco, begun in 1537 to the designs of Jacopo Sansovino. Its east front in deep afternoon shadow cuts across the Campanile, drawn, as usual, taller and more slender than in reality. Standing in such a position as to see the Libreria from this angle, the Campanile is in fact largely hidden from view. In the distance are the Torre dell'Orologio and the first few bays of the Procuratie Vecchie, and to the right is the façade of San Marco, in steep perspective. The column of San Teodoro, which should stand right in the middle of the composition, lies along the right edge - Canaletto has moved it well to the east to make room for his view of the Piazzetta.

The painting of the same scene (Royal Collection, RCIN 405074) takes a slightly higher viewpoint, renders the east front of the Libreria in even steeper perspective, and moves the Campanile to the left to hide more of its shaft. The buildings on the far side of the Piazza are shown on a larger scale, and the flagpoles, absent in the drawing, are prominent in the Piazza, though in incorrect perspective (the façade of San Marco and thus the line of the flagpoles are not parallel to the east front of the Libreria). San Marco is shown even closer to the viewer and in grossly distorted perspective, effectively eliminating the Palazzo Ducale from the topography of the area. The painting preserves the direction of lighting of the drawing, and the scribbles in the foreground are fleshed out to include a procurator in his red robe. By placing the nearest and most distant elements of the painting next to each other, Canaletto enlivens the surface and ensures that it does not appear to be simply an exercise in pictorial space.

Catalogue entry adapted from Canaletto in Venice, London, 2005