Palace of
Holyroodhouse,
The Royal Mile
0131 556 5100

until 7 Jan 2007
Mon – Sun
9.30am – 6pm
(last admission 5pm)
Adult £5, Over 60/
Student £4.50,
Under 17 £3

Canaletto in Venice

Our image of Venice has been shaped to a remarkable degree by the work of Giovanni Antonio Canal, known as Canaletto (1697 – 1768). His dazzling paintings and lively drawings have fixed the 18th century city of canals, palaces, churches and squares in the popular imagination. Fourteen luminous paintings of the Grand Canal from 1730 – 35 form the centrepiece of the exhibition and are displayed with 70 works on paper, the largest group of Canaletto’s drawings ever shown.

The exhibition takes the viewer on a journey through the heart of Venice – from the quayside houses and workshops on the canal’s upper reaches to the bustling festivities of a regatta and Ascension Day celebrations near St Mark’s Square. Canaletto brilliantly captures the effects of light on stone and water, and fills each painting with a snapshot of Venetian daily life.

www.royalcollection.org.uk