1740
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
Le Porte Del Dolo is a 1740 ink by Canaletto, a Baroque work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This black-and-white print shows a busy canal scene with crumbling buildings on both sides. People in old-fashioned clothes stand near the water’s edge—some chat, others tend to small boats or carry goods. The buildings look weathered, with broken windows and sagging roofs, while a bridge stretches across the middle. In the foreground, a woman in a long dress holds a child’s hand, and a dog wanders near her feet. The artist used fine lines to show every detail, from the folds in the clothes to the cracks in the walls. This kind of careful drawing was key to how Canaletto made his famous views of Venice. Next, check out etching to see how artists like him created these sharp, precise prints.
Giovanni Antonio Canal (18 October 1697 – 19 April 1768), commonly known as Canaletto (Italian: ), was an Italian painter from the Republic of Venice, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school.
See the richer artist page
![The Terrace [lower right]](https://pub-3a17a9933ad74fb28aa30fa758592f23.r2.dev/artworks/a2ffdcfd2694be26/thumb.webp)
