Giovanni Antonio Canal (October 17 or 18, 1697 – April 19, 1768), famously known as Canaletto, was an Italian painter whose landscape paintings conserved the beauty of his time. He was born to a painter father, Bernado Canal, in Venice. Canaletto became an apprenticed painter at a very early age, working with his father and his brother. He was inspired by the Roman vedutista Giovanni Paolo Pannini, driving him to create art that depicted the daily life of the city. When he started painting, his creative works were mainly done outdoors as opposed to the existing tradition where paintings were finished in the studio. Canaletto’s works are notable for their accuracy that provides reliable accounts of different landscapes of his time.
Although he created several artwork pieces, his earliest creations remain his best and most sought after. At some point in his career, he created several works that captured Doge's Palace and Venice's diverse scenes. Canaletto created his art with a deep understanding of color, using atmospheric blends that best represented the scenes he captured. He moved to London in the 1740s during the War of the Austrian Succession that affected his works in Venice. In London, Canaletto created London landscapes and lived in England until 1755. But generally, the period marked his artistic decline, suffering from redundancy. Things didn't work out for him, forcing him to move back to Venice, ending up in the Venetian Academy in 1763. Canaletto offered art training lessons to several pupils, several of whom became great artists. His works are found in the Royal Collection, Wallace Collection, among other places. Framed Giovanni Antonio Canaletto art continue to sell to this day, with several other finishing options available for art lovers. His art "View of the Grand Canal" was sold in an auction in 2005 for £18.6 million.