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.
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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.