Warwick Castle: The East Front by Canaletto

Warwick Castle: The East Front
1752
Baroque, Rococo
Pen and brown ink with grey wash
Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Canaletto’s drawing of Warwick Castle features a pastoral landscape and the iconic medieval castle. Canaletto became interested in the castle after leaving the confines of London to venture into the English countryside. His drawings were additions to the five paintings of the castle Canaletto created and reflected the growing market for works produced in real-time instead of a studio.

Canaletto
Baroque, Rococo
Born: 28 October 1697, Venice, Italy
Nationality: Italian
Died: 19 April 1768, Venice, Italy

Canaletto was a painter from the Republic of Venice and is considered an important member of the Venetian School of the 18th century. He was a painter of vedutas of Venice, Rome, and London as well as imaginary (capriccio) views. He was highly successful in England due to the patronage of Joseph “Consul” Smith, a British merchant and connoisseur