In 1725, the painter Alessandro Marchesini, who was also the buyer for the Lucchese art collector Stefano Conti, had inquired about buying two more 'views of Venice', when the agent urged him to consider instead the work of "Antonio Canale... it is like Carlevaris, but you can see the sun shining in it." Woburn Abbey is currently undergoing its biggest refurbishment since it first opened to the public in 1955. The renovations have therefore provided an ideal opportunity for The Duke and Duchess of Bedford generously to share a selection of Woburn’s greatest treasures with a wider audience, so they can be enjoyed in a different context with new narratives,” explains the Holburne’s Director, Chris Stephens.

A rite of passage for mainly young, aristocratic English men, this extended journey through Europe and beyond was designed to provide an education in classical learning and foster independence. Venice’s reputation as a place of pleasure, with gambling houses and opportunities for drinking and partying, was another reason behind the city’s appeal.

Giovanni Antonio Canal, known as Canaletto, was born in Venice, the son of a theatrical scene painter. He was very influential, famed for his precisely depicted and evocative views of the city (vedute). Canaletto's early pictures for local patrons are his most accomplished: these carefully designed, individual, and atmospheric studies include 'The Stonemason's Yard'. Additional support is kindly provided by Sally Engelhard Pingree and The Charles Engelhard Foundation. The festivals, regattas, and ceremonies of Venice will be showcased in the exhibition through several important works, including Canaletto's The Molo from the Bacino di San Marco on Ascension Day (c. 1733–1734). Historical events of the city were also recorded by the view painters, such as in Carlevarijs' pioneering composition The Reception of the British Ambassador Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester, at the Doge's Palace, 22 September 1707 (c. 1707–1708).

Canaletto Guardi: Les deux maîtres de Venise. Ed. Bozena Anna Kowalczyk. Exh. cat., Musée Jacquemart-André. Brussels, 2012, p. 90, under no. 13, dates it 1728.We see this exhibition as a wonderful opportunity not only to bring world class art to the gallery, but also to examine its influence on some of Worcester’s best-loved artworks.” Venice: Canaletto and His Rivals' presents the finest view paintings of one of the world’s most enthralling and beautiful cities. As well as celebrating the great works of Canaletto, one of the best-loved artists in Britain, the exhibition highlights the exceptional achievements of his now less well-known rivals and associates. One of the paintings of the set of 24 is not included in the Holburne display, but can be viewed concurrently at the Queen’s House in Greenwich. Canaletto died in Venice on 19 April 1768. More than 250 years after his death, his work continues to capture our imagination.

Many of Canaletto’s greatest masterpieces are on display, including ‘The Riva degli Schiavoni, looking West’ (Sir John Soane’s Museum, London), The Stonemason’s Yard (The National Gallery, London), and four of the finest works from the Royal Collection.W. G. Constable. Canaletto: Giovanni Antonio Canal, 1697–1768. Ed. J. G. Links. 2nd ed., reissued with supplement and additional plates. Oxford, 1989, vol. 1, pp. xlvii, 110–15, pl. 50; vol. 2, pp. 277, 305–6, no. 240. This once in a lifetime exhibition will enable art lovers to enjoy and study up-close twenty-three beautiful paintings, in a fascinating exhibition that also explores Canaletto’s life and work, alongside themes of 18 th-century Venice and the Grand Tour. It's true that Canaletto’s entrepreneurial spirit was one of the reasons behind his success, says Gazzard: “Canaletto’s work was portable, collectible, and his customer base of elite figures ensured that his work was spread around Europe during his lifetime.” J. G. Links. "A Missing Canaletto Found." Burlington Magazine 109 (July 1967), p. 406, fig. 33 (detail). Katharine Baetjer and J. G. Links. Canaletto. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1989, pp. 130–31, no. 27, ill. (color), suggest a date in the late 1720s and compare it to the larger and earlier view in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, which shows the piazza only partly paved with stone, and is on that account dated in or about 1723; observe that the windows of the campanile are fewer in number and more widely spaced than in reality, and that the flagstaffs are too tall, but that otherwise the artist took few, if any, liberties with the topography; note that it is not engraved and there is no evidence of a pendant.