Book excerpt: Zuanne Antonio Canal was born in the Venetian parish of San Lio on 28th October 1697, and began his career as a painter of scenes for the theatre. In 1719 he went to Rome, and here, according to the account of the eighteenth century historian, Anton Maria Zanetti (1771) he grew weary of the theatre and started painting vedute from life. Canaletto examines the career of this most famous Venetian painter in context, from the origins of painting in Venice, and Canaletto's artistic predecessor, Luca Calrevarijs, to the last great Venetian veduta painter, Fransesco Guardi.