Image source: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain). View source
The Stonemason's Yard
Canaletto · Rococo & Neoclassicism
- Artist
- Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) (1697–1768)
- Date
- c. 1725
- Dimensions
- 124 x 163 cm
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- National Gallery, London, United Kingdom
The Stonemason's Yard shows an ordinary corner of Venice early in the morning: a square in front of the church of San Vidal, cluttered with blocks of marble and stonemasons at work, with laundry hanging from windows, a woman calling to a child who has fallen, and the Grand Canal behind.
A closer look
Unlike Canaletto's later, glittering views of famous monuments painted for tourists, this is an intimate, unidealised picture of daily life in a working neighbourhood. The light comes from the left, catching the white stone, the peeling plaster of the houses and the rooftops, while across the canal the church of the Carità glows in the sun. Every detail, from the chimneys to the chickens, is observed with care. Many consider it Canaletto's masterpiece precisely because of its quiet truthfulness.
History of the painting
The painting was owned by Sir George Beaumont, collector, amateur painter and friend of Constable. In 1823 he promised his pictures to the nation on condition that a proper national gallery be created, an offer that helped persuade the government to found the National Gallery the following year; this view of Venice passed to the gallery in 1828.
More by Canaletto
In this gallery
The Grand Canal near the Rialto Bridge, Venice
London Seen through an Arch of Westminster Bridge
The Bucintoro at the Molo on Ascension Day