Views: The Canal Lock at Dolo (1735–46): Art, History and Details

Views: The Canal Lock at Dolo (1735–46) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Antonio Canaletto (Italian, 1697–1768).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Antonio Canaletto took up etching as an extension of his painting practice, which consisted of representing topographical views of Venice for wealthy patrons. This print belongs to a series he made of rural scenery outside the city—here, the village of Dolo and its canal. Etching provided the artist with a means of formal experimentation, and he became a master of describing Venice’s distinctive buildings and the reflections and shadows from its many canals. Prints also provided the artist with a steady income; this series was likely marketed to affluent British tourists as a souvenir.

Object facts

• Title: Views: The Canal Lock at Dolo
• Date: 1735–46
• Creator attribution: Antonio Canaletto (Italian, 1697–1768)
• Culture: Italy, Venice
• Type: Print
• Technique: etching
• Collection: PR - Etching
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1925.1239.6

A detail from the museum

Dolo, the town depicted here, was a popular site of country homes for wealthy inhabitants of Venice nearby.

Collection credit

Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland

Further reading listed by the museum

• "Etchings by Canaletto." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 13, no. 6 (June 1926): 143
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1928.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.