5 Euro coin "Canaletto"

The coin depicts a beautiful view of Venice, taken from the painting “View of St. Mark’s Basin from the Punta della Dogana” by Canaletto (1740-1745), which is displayed in the Brera Gallery in Milan. The artist was one of the founders of the genre of vedutismo, which achieved an extraordinary international success in the 18th century and reached its highest levels in representations of the lagoon city: seen as a symbol of wealth and tranquility, Venice was immortalized in the splendor of its palaces and in the magnificence of its churches facing onto the water, steeped in a timeless atmosphere illuminated by a typically sparkling light. A specific feature of Canaletto’s technique was the use of the “camera obscura”.