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Canaletto

Landscape with Ruined Monuments, from Vedute

1735/44
Etching in black on ivory laid paper
14.1 × 21.5 cm (5.6 × 8.5 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Curiously, Canaletto never printed either of these energetic capriccio landscapes (depictions of fantastic architecture or ruins) individually. Instead, they exist only as a pair on a single sheet (for the right half, see 1922.1381.14). While both images include fictional antiquarian architectural elements, it is not known why the artist combined them. Perhaps it was their mirrored compositions: when placed side by side, both images slope inward toward a church that straddles the margin between the plates and connects the two scenes.

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