Bernardo Bellotto

Bernardo Bellotto was an Italian painter, born in Venice in 1721 and died in Warsaw in 1780. He was a pupil and nephew of the renowned painter Canaletto, and is often confused with him due to the similarity in their styles and the fact that Bellotto sometimes signed his works as "Canaletto". Bellotto specialized in vedute, or detailed, large-scale paintings of cityscapes. He worked in various cities across Europe, including Dresden, Vienna, Munich, and Warsaw, where he became court painter to King Stanisław II Augustus of Poland.

Bellotto's works are characterized by their precise detail and use of perspective, as well as their depiction of the effects of light and atmosphere. Some of his most famous works include View of the Grand Canal, Dresden from the Right Bank of the Elbe, and The Marketplace at Pirna. His paintings were highly sought after by collectors and played a significant role in shaping the European view of urban landscapes.

Bellotto's works can be found in numerous museums and collections around the world, including the National Gallery in London, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. His contributions to the genre of vedute painting have been recognized as significant, and his works continue to be studied and admired for their technical skill and artistic beauty.