Venice unmasked
Canaletto and the portrait of a city
Members go free
This is an online event, exclusive to Members, hosted on Zoom.
Members, please book your free ticket to access this event. You will receive an E-ticket with instructions on how to access your online events, films and resources via your National Gallery account. Only one ticket can be booked per account.
A recording of this event will be made available to all ticket holders in the days following the event.
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Take a close look at one of the most spectacular paintings in the National Gallery: Canaletto's ‘A Regatta on the Grand Canal’ (about 1740).
Nearly two metres wide, the painting pulses with life – racing gondolas, Venetian masks, cheering crowds and the glittering palaces of the Grand Canal receding into the distance with almost photographic precision. Yet this dazzling realism is built on illusion: geometry, stagecraft and theatrical invention in perfect balance.
Join Dr Carlo Corsato, who will guide you through the painting layer by layer. Explore the annual boat race and its working-class champions, the masked spectators and Grand Tour visitors jostling for the best view, and the extraordinary architecture of Venice, a city built on water. He will also compare the two versions of this scene in the National Gallery's collection, revealing what Canaletto changed and why.
Discover how this view of Venice becomes something richer. It’s not just a cityscape, it’s a portrait of an entire culture putting itself on display for the world.
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Watch again
A recording of this event will be made available to all ticket holders in the days following the event.
This recording will be available for two weeks.
Closed captions
Automatic closed captioning is available for this event.