View of Whitehall, New Horse Guards

Location

Country: Uruguay
City: Montevideo
Place: British Embassy

Giovanni Antonio Canal (Canaletto) was born in Venice, the son of a scenery painter. He probably trained under his father and assisted his father in Venice and later Rome, before returning to Venice to join the Venetian painter’s guild. His early works were mainly ‘capricci’, sold locally. During the 1720s he began painting Venetian views and met his foremost patron; Englishman Joseph Smith. Smith lived on the Grand Canal and built up the most important collection of Canaletto’s work. It was sold to George III in 1762 and remains in the Royal Collection. Canaletto moved to London in 1746, living in Soho for ten years. In 1763, after returning to Venice, he was elected to the Venetian Academy and appointed head of the Collegio dei Pittori.

Places

England, London, Horse Guards, Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall

Subjects

topography, genre, townscape/cityscape, dog, man, woman, 18th century costume, dress, coat, child, soldier, fence, path, garden, lawn, government building

Materials & Techniques

canvas, oil, oil painting

Artist

Canaletto (after)

Title

View of Whitehall, New Horse Guards

Date

c.1770

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

height: 73.50 cm, width: 125.00 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Leggatt Bros, July 1953

Inscription

none visible

Provenance

With Leggatt Bros; from whom purchased by the Ministry of Works in July 1953

GAC number

2173