
The Grand Canal series
The Grand Canal series—made up of 12 views of the same size and two festivals on larger canvases (on display at the start of the exhibition)—was one of the principal commissions Canaletto painted for Joseph Smith. The series gives an almost complete picture of the entire length of the Grand Canal, and was painted in stages over a period of about ten years.

The locations of the paintings in the Grand Canal series ©
Joseph Smith displayed these paintings in his palazzo on the Grand Canal, where he was regularly visited by patrons and Grand Tourists, many of whom commissioned their own versions. Smith’s exact arrangement of the paintings is not known, but it may have begun with the Canale di Santa Chiara (no. 1) and ended with the mouth of the Grand Canal (no. 12). Smith had the set reproduced in etchings by Antonio Visentini and published them in the Prospectus in 1735, thereby making knowledge of Canaletto’s works much more accessible.
Through constant observation Canaletto captured moments of daily life and the picturesque beauty of his native city, imaginatively transforming them from prosaic transcriptions of reality into works of art.
Canaletto (Venice 1697-Venice 1768)
1. The Canale di Santa Chiara looking north towards the Lagoon
Canaletto (Venice 1697-Venice 1768)
2: The Grand Canal looking west with the Scalzi and S. Simeone Piccolo
Canaletto (Venice 1697-Venice 1768)
3: San Geremia and the entrance to the Cannaregio
Canaletto (Venice 1697-Venice 1768)
4: The Grand Canal looking west from the Palazzo Vendramin-Calergi towards San Geremia
Canaletto (Venice 1697-Venice 1768)
5: The Grand Canal looking north-west from near the Rialto
Canaletto (Venice 1697-Venice 1768)
6: The Rialto Bridge from the North
Canaletto (Venice 1697-Venice 1768)
7: The Grand Canal looking south-west from the Rialto to Ca’ Foscari
Canaletto (Venice 1697-Venice 1768)
8: The Grand Canal looking south from Ca’ Foscari to the Carità
Canaletto (Venice 1697-Venice 1768)
9: The Grand Canal looking east from the Carità towards the Bacino
Canaletto (Venice 1697-Venice 1768)
10: The Grand Canal looking east from Campo San Vio towards the Bacino
Canaletto (Venice 1697-Venice 1768)
11: The Grand Canal with Santa Maria della Salute looking towards the Riva degli Schiavoni
Canaletto (Venice 1697-Venice 1768)