Yale Center for British Art

Creator:: Canaletto, 1697–1768, Venetian, active in Britain (1746–55)
Title:: Warwick Castle
Date:: 1748 to 1749
Materials & Techniques:: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:: Frame: 37 3/4 × 56 1/4 × 3 1/2 inches (95.9 × 142.9 × 8.9 cm)
Credit Line:: Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:: Public Domain
Accession Number:: B1994.18.2
Gallery Label:: This is one of five paintings commissioned from Canaletto by the wealthy young aristocrat Francis Greville, Lord Brooke, to record the ambitious renovation of his ancestral home in Warwickshire. The extensive remodeling of both the medieval castle and the park were entrusted to the renowned landscape architect Lancelot “Capability” Brown in 1748. Canaletto represents the ambitious project in progress with laborers moving earth and cutting stone, while polite townspeople promenade in the foreground, enjoying the new walks and views from the river and admiring Lord Brooke’s improvements. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016