Canaletto and Guardi by Lelia Packer

Among the renowned Old Master paintings at the Wallace Collection in London is an important group of 27 eighteenth-century views of Venice, known as vedute, by Canaletto and his followers, including Francesco Guardi. They hang together in a dedicated gallery known as the Canaletto Room, but the majority had not been cleaned since the nineteenth century and their original beauty was obscured by multiple layers of discoloured varnish.

The paintings have now been restored, following a recent multi-year conservation and research project, and this book presents them in their renewed splendour. It features essays and commentaries by Charles Beddington, the global expert on vedute, and by Wallace Collection curator Lelia Packer, which provide fresh insights into the artists’ creative processes, the dating of pictures and their authorship. Canaletto and Guardi is a gorgeous celebration of the beauty of Venice that these paintings convey.

Canaletto to Guardi is a gorgeous celebration of the beauty of Venice as conveyed in the paintings of Canaletto and his followers, including Francesco Guardi, that are displayed in the Wallace Collection in London.

About the Author: Charles Beddington is an independent scholar and art dealer based in London who is a world authority on Venetian vedute.

Lelia Packer is the Curator of Dutch, Italian, Spanish, German and Pre-1600 Paintings at The Wallace Collection.

13 Feb 2025
 

Canaletto and Guardi: Views of Venice at the Wallace Collection by Lelia Packer ISBN 9781785513206