The Campo di Rialto

Canaletto (1697–1768) painted this view of the Campo di Rialto, the main marketplace and business centre of Venice, in the last years of his life. The work was a commission for Sigismund Streit, a Berlin-born merchant who had spent many years in Venice.

The choice of this rather unusual view of the square seems to reflect Streit’s desire to capture his business activities for posterity:

The depicted backside of the Porticato del Banco Giro was home to the headquarters of the Venetian State Bank (Banco del Giro). Its employees can be seen sitting at their raised desks.

Merchants in conversation are scattered all across the square ...

…among them some Armenian businessmen, recognisable by their long garments and pointed hats, who are mentioned in Streit’s descriptions of Venice.

In the background, the Campanile of S. Giovanni Elemosinario rises above the roofs, one of which is being repaired.

A lady looks down from the balcony onto the bustle.

On the left is the “Ruga degli orefici”, named after the goldsmiths who had their shops there.

In front of the shops, numerous stalls and kiosks sell fruit, vegetables, and pottery.

Further upfront, household items are being sold.

On the right, other stands offer furniture, paintings, and other art objects.

The wide-angle perspective makes the square appear much larger and more monumental than it really is.

This monumentality of the space, the cool, dry clarity of the atmosphere, the painstaking exactness of the architecture, and the fondness for the genre-style elaboration of details are all characteristic of Canaletto’s late style. The painter achieved great renown in his lifetime for his vedute of Venice and landscape paintings.