The Piazzetta Looking towards the Torre dell'Orologio 1728

Canaletto made this pen and ink drawing of the Piazzetta in Venice sometime in the 18th century. As in many of his works, the scene depicts a well-known public space in Venice; here, the view opens up to the Torre dell'Orologio, or clock tower. But what does it mean to represent public space in this way? Venice in the 1700s was a republic, but one dominated by a small aristocracy. Art in Venice often functioned to reinforce the power of that class, and Canaletto was one of its leading producers. His skill for creating idealized, picturesque views made him popular with foreign tourists, who were eager to buy images of Venice to take back home. We can study these drawings today using all kinds of resources, from tourist guides, to ships’ passenger manifests, to records of the art market. By understanding the social and institutional context of this drawing, we can better understand its meaning, and the important public role of art.