Seen from the Bacino di San Marco in Venice
1730 - 1740
Canaletto was the ultimate 18th-century travel photographer, capturing Venice's bustling harbor with almost photographic precision. This oval-shaped view from the Bacino di San Marco is packed with gondolas, merchants, and grand landmarks like the Santa Maria della Salute and the Campanile. He often used a camera obscura to get his perspectives so perfectly right, selling these sunny scenes to wealthy British tourists on their Grand Tour who wanted a perfect, idealized souvenir of the floating city.