769 - Canal view across a town canal with boats, wooden sheds on the bank and domed building, veduta

Canal view across a town canal with boats, wooden sheds on the bank and domed building, veduta Sepia wash drawing on paper, unsigned, verso numbered in pencil "62071", view across a canal between rows of houses, on the left a tall house with hipped roof and a deciduous tree, in front of it steps down to the water, in the centre wooden sheds on piles on the bank, in front of them two boats, in the background rows of houses with mansard roofs and a domed building with lantern, on the right a row of houses with balcony, on it a person with a hat, on the bank planks, piles and laundry hung out, good condition commensurate with age, foxing, slightly browned, image 24x30 cm (HxW) The sheet belongs to the genre of the veduta, the descriptive depiction of a townscape or landscape aiming at faithful rendering; the term, which comes from Italian, is documented from the early 17th century. The rise of tourism in the 18th century created great demand for views of towns and landscapes, which circulated as drawings, watercolours and prints until they were replaced in the second half of the 19th century by photography, travel book illustration and the picture postcard. As a town view with canal, waterfront buildings and domed building, the sheet stands in this tradition of topographical drawing.