European School (xx) - Padova: Veduta Di Porta Portello (after Canaletto)

Oil on panel. Strong affinity with 18th-century Venetian landscape painting. An exquisite view by Canaletto, painted around 1750, depicting the famous city gate at the confluence of the Bacchiglione River, marking the entrance to Venice. The composition is structured around the imposing Porta Portello, an elegant Renaissance-style stone structure that dominates the left side of the canvas. Its solidity contrasts with the vastness of the landscape. The canal water occupies a large part of the scene, serving as a waterway, and is rendered with exceptional mastery of light, creating crystalline reflections. The foreground is enlivened by small human figures, barges and gondolas, meticulously detailed to evoke the daily life and commercial activity of the time, testifying to Canaletto's mastery which combined architectural precision and a keen sense of decoration. Dimensions of the image without frame: 84 x 52 cm / 95 x 63 cm with a magnificent custom-made gilt frame.