Entrance to the Grand Canal, Venice, looking East

This view of the entrance to the Grand Canal, Venice with Longhena’s church of Santa Maria della Salute on the right, is based on the painting by Canaletto which was supplied in the mid-1730s to Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent (1671-1740), who obtained four works by the artist as well as views of Rome by Panini. The subject was understandably popular and was treated by Canaletto on a number of occasions, the Lucas picture being most closely related to the smaller work engraved by Visentini from Consul Smith’s collection (Constable, op. cit., no. 170). This canvas is clearly by the same hand as one which was owned by the philosopher, George Berkeley, Bishop of Cloyne and is now at Audley End, Suffolk: this was persuasively attributed by Charles Beddington to his Bateman Master, who must have had access to the Kent picture before this was despatched to England. The Bateman Master must have been trained by Canaletto and may have been employed by Consul Smith, who is likely to have arranged the Kent commission (the Duke did not visit Italy) and probably also that for Bishop Berkeley, who owned a pendant view, also at Audley End, as well as Bellotto’s magnificent copy of Canaletto’s Bucintoro at the Molo (Audley End, English Heritage).