
Read the visual description
The image shows an Italian village square with a central church building. The viewpoint is slightly elevated, offering a full view of the square and surrounding buildings. The church, with a tall bell tower, stands out against the sky. The painting appears to use precise and delicate brushstrokes, resembling an ink and wash technique. The color palette is muted, mostly in shades of grey and blue. A street curves in front of the church, lined with arcades on the left and houses on the right. In the background, trees suggest a rural setting beyond the village.
National Gallery of Art · Drawing
A Town Center with a Church
Italian 18th Century
- Medium
- pen and brown ink with gray wash on laid paper
- Dimensions
- image: 50.5 x 78.5 cm (19 7/8 x 30 7/8 in.)
- Classification
- Drawing
- Accession number
- 2004.151.2
- Credit line
- Gift of Dr. Louis D. Kaplan and Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan
- Time span
- 1651 to 1700
- Department
- CG-E
Subjects and terms
- Italian
- architecture
- House
- Road
- Sky
- Building
Provenance
Dr. and Mrs. Louis Kaplan; gift to NGA, 2004.
Inscription
verso lower right in ink: [Lanola?] Veneta Canaletto [aut?] in Venezia 1699 al 1768
NGA object ID 131776. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.