The "Giovedì Grasso" Festival before the Ducal Palace in Venice

Canaletto, 1765/1766

This painting shows a grand city square filled with people. There are two long white buildings on the left and right of the square, both with large arched windows, smaller round windows, columns, and several rows of balconies. Every balcony and window is filled with people. Between the two buildings, to the right of center, is a domed structure with three tiered layers comprised of central arched openings surrounded by columns topped with statues and covered with intricate railings and details. The square is filled with people in long coats, dresses or pants, and hats, all in shades of gray. Most of them face away from us, looking towards the center of the square where performers stand on a stage, arranged in a pyramid formation using thin beams. The sky above is a gradient of gray, suggesting a cloud-filled sky.
Artist
Canaletto
Date
1765/1766
Type
Drawing
Medium
pen and brown ink with gray wash over traces of graphite, tip of the brush with black wash, heightened with touches of white gouache (laid on thick eighteenth-century mount)
Dimensions
38.6 × 55.5 cm
Collection
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Licence
Public domain, CC0

Image description

This painting shows a grand city square filled with people. There are two long white buildings on the left and right of the square, both with large arched windows, smaller round windows, columns, and several rows of balconies. Every balcony and window is filled with people. Between the two buildings, to the right of center, is a domed structure with three tiered layers comprised of central arched openings surrounded by columns topped with statues and covered with intricate railings and details. The square is filled with people in long coats, dresses or pants, and hats, all in shades of gray. Most of them face away from us, looking towards the center of the square where performers stand on a stage, arranged in a pyramid formation using thin beams. The sky above is a gradient of gray, suggesting a cloud-filled sky.

Canaletto