
Canaletto's Overdoors
Like many of his contemporaries Smith was deeply interested in the work of the sixteenth-century architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580), who advocated ideal buildings based on Classical values of harmonious proportion. In the early 1740s Smith commissioned Canaletto to make a set of 13 paintings as a tribute to these principles. They were intended to hang above doors in Smith’s palazzo, and show buildings by Palladio, other important Venetian architecture or sculpture in imaginary settings.
Canaletto (Venice 1697-Venice 1768)
Capriccio View of the Piazzetta with the Horses of San Marco
Canaletto (Venice 1697-Venice 1768)
Capriccio View with Palladio's Design for the Rialto Bridge
Canaletto (Venice 1697-Venice 1768)
Capriccio View of the Molo and the Palazzo Ducale
Canaletto (Venice 1697-Venice 1768)
Capriccio View of the Courtyard of the Palazzo Ducale with the Scala dei Giganti
Canaletto (Venice 1697-Venice 1768)
The Piazza and Piazzetta from the Torre dell'Orologio towards San Giorgio
Canaletto (Venice 1697-Venice 1768)