Der Prato della Valle in Padua

Canaletto painted this square in Padua in the early 1740s, and what he recorded is a place that no longer exists. Prato della Valle was then a wide, ragged open field, its name meaning meadow of the valley, used for markets and fairs and prone to flooding. About 30 years after Canaletto set it down, in 1775, the city drained it and dug the elegant oval canal ringed with statues that visitors walk today. So his view is the older, muddier Padua. He catches it in afternoon light, one side of the square bright and the far side dropped into shadow. For years the picture hung under the name of his nephew Bellotto before scholars gave it back to Canaletto.