Venise : l'intérieur de Saint-Marc de jour

Canaletto had spent nine years in London selling views to English buyers and came home to Venice in 1755 to find that trade thinning. This small canvas belongs to those last years, and it is not a view of the city at all. It looks up the nave of San Marco towards the high altar on what must be a feast day, the Doge's arms hung down both sides, candles lit along the top of the rood screen, the floor filled with kneeling worshippers. It was painted for Joseph Smith, the British consul in Venice, who had been Canaletto's patron and agent for some 30 years. In 1762 George III bought Smith's entire collection, which is how about 50 Canalettos entered the Royal Collection in a single purchase.