A drawing of an invented view, known as a capriccio. The drawing features the Fontegheto della Farina on the right, and an embellished version of the Palazzo Valaresso behind it. On the left is an arch surmounted by a statue of a saint. Many figures occupy a sunken courtyard in the foreground.

The drawing belongs to a series of small drawings consisting of pairs of sheets of the same composition (RL 7462-5), one executed in pen only, the other shaded with grey wash rather than pen hatching. The pen style of each is essentially the same, though the flatter handling of the wash version would suggest that in each case it was drawn after the pen-only version. The use of overlays demonstrates that no tracing took place, and that each version was laid out afresh.

In this drawing Canaletto placed the central buildings of the Fondamenta della Farina, west of the Piazzetta and Molo in an imaginary setting. The Fontegheto della Farina is now approached by a sunken courtyard (though the market traders of the Fondamenta have remained), and Palazzo Valaresso has gained an implied two-storey classical façade, the columns of which are visible with an awning on its left side. Beyond, over the wall of the courtyard, is an open arcade, and on the left a neoclassical arch surmounted by the statue of a saint. In the wash version, Canaletto’s family arms with the chevron are clearly seen on the near face of the arch.

Catalogue entry adapted from Canaletto in Venice, London, 2005