Resumen de Views of Dolo by Canaletto, Bellotto, Cimaroli and Guardi
The writer discusses the relationships between different versions of the painting Dolo on the Brenta by Canaletto, Bernardo Bellotto, Giovan Battista Cimaroli, and Francesco Guardi. It seems likely that the views of Dolo by Canaletto (in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, England) and Bellotto (private collection, England) were painted around 1741, shortly after their voyage along the Brenta canal; that Cimaroli copied Canaletto's composition in his three known views of the scene, probably also in the 1740s; and that Guardi's three paintings of the scene can be dated to 1774–76, with the version in the Detroit institute of Arts being the prime version. However, it is still uncertain how Cimaroli gained access to Canaletto's painting, if, as is generally believed, it is indeed that artist's work, and not another version by Cimaroli. Nevertheless, the wide success the work enjoyed, even decades later, is evidence in favor of attributing its creation to Canaletto.
