Veduta & Capriccio
The term veduta (Italian for “view”) refers to detailed, usually large-scale cityscapes or landscapes, popular in 17th–18th century Europe, especially among travellers on the Grand Tour.
A capriccio, by contrast, is a fanciful invention — an imaginary cityscape or landscape that combines real and invented architecture. Both genres reflect the growing interest in travel, topography, and imagination.
Key artwork of this movement
One of the most famous vedute is Canaletto’s Entrance to the Grand Canal in Venice. Painted around 1730, it’s so precise you can almost step into it. It shows how artists captured both the beauty of the place and the growing popularity of travel and tourism at that time.
Handouts:
Websites:
Artists to Research:
Canaletto
Giovanni Paolo Panini
Francesco Guardi
Hubert Robert
Bernardo Bellotto
