View of the Ducal Palace in Venice

Canaletto's View of the Ducal Palace, painted around 1755, is a later version of a subject he had treated throughout his career. By the mid-1750s Canaletto had returned to Venice after his unsuccessful English period and was producing works that reflected both his mature command and a slightly more mechanical approach than his earlier peak. The Ducal Palace remained his most commercially reliable subject, and his late versions are distinguished by their immaculate architectural precision.

The palace is depicted in strong lateral light that emphasises the modelling of the Gothic arcade. Canaletto's late technique shows increased precision and control, though some critics detect a slight hardening compared with his 1730s peak. The gondolas and figures in the foreground are handled with the practised ease of a painter who had depicted this subject hundreds of times.