The Entrance of the Grand Canal, Venice, looking West

This scene of Venice, painted by an anonymous English artist, derives from a composition by the master of Venetian views, Giovanni Antonio Canaletto. This view was widely circulated in England by way of a plate book, Urbis Venetiarum Prospectus Celebriores, with etchings of Canaletto's compositions by Antonio Visenti (1742, Venice). The present lot is clearly inspired by plate VI in the series, although the artist added his own flair through the addition of an extra gondola in the foreground.