The Entrance to the Grand Canal

This stunning view of Venice captures the city's most famous waterway at its most theatrical point, where the Grand Canal opens up to the lagoon. Canaletto painted this scene in the 18th century, and he was the master of these precise, almost photographic cityscapes called vedute. Notice the magnificent dome of Santa Maria della Salute on the left, one of Venice's most recognizable landmarks, and the busy water traffic of gondolas and boats going about their daily business.

What makes Canaletto special is his ability to paint Venice as both grand and lived-in at the same time. The light is crystal clear, the architecture is rendered with mathematical precision, and yet there's real life happening everywhere you look. People are rowing, talking, working. These paintings were hugely popular with wealthy European tourists doing the Grand Tour, who wanted a beautiful souvenir of Venice to take home. In many ways, Canaletto was creating the postcard before postcards existed, though his work required considerably more skill than snapping a photo.