The Tower in Marghera

The Venetian master Antonio Canale, called Canaletto, earned his reputation mainly as a painter of vedute (views). He seems to have engaged in printmaking only in the first half of the 1740s; dating from that period is his collection of thirty−five etchings compiled into an album entitled VEDUTE / Altre prese da i Luoghi altre ideate da Antonio Canal e da esso intagliate poste in prospettiva umiliate. The National Gallery in Prague holds twenty−two plates from this series. In depicting the Tower of Marghera, Canaletto sought inspiration in a real piece of land near Port Marghera on the lagoon, with an abandoned, 14th−century lookout tower. He enlivened the scene with boats and fishermen. He managed to capture the sun rays reflected on the shimmering water, the crystalline light and the misty air enshrouding the mountain peaks in the distance. The etching’s technical execution is highly confident, and the image’s sense of lightness and refinement bring to mind a drawing. Later on, he used some of his etchings as models for paintings; a painting has been preserved showing the same view as that in this sheet.