The Tower of Malghera, from Vedute

Canaletto, along with his nephew and apprentice, Bernardo Bellotto, departed from Venice and traveled along the Brenta River to Padua around 1741. The exposure to the natural world engendered by this trip would affect the artist’s work for years afterward. This etching shows the fidelity with which Canaletto was able to render his subjects, especially architecture and bodies of water. With a sun-washed tower looming above workers along the river’s edge, the image conjures a romantic, dreamy vignette of country life.