(Verona 1800–1879 Milan)
Florence, Piazza della Signoria from the Loggia dei Lanzi, oil on canvas, 65 x 105 cm, framed

A certificate of authenticity issued by Fabrizio Magani is available upon request.

The painting depicts one of the most evocative views of Florence. The Loggia dei Lanzi appears in the foreground with its renowned sculptures, the Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna, the group Menelaus supporting the body of Patroclus and Benvenuto Cellini’s Perseus. Our gaze is then guided towards the Palazzo Vecchio, where we make out the silhouette of Michelangelo’s David and, finally, further down to the Fountain of Neptune by Bartolomeo Ammannati. The painting offers a new perspective on the wide-ranging interests of nineteenth-century “vedutisti” such as Carlo Canella, and their interpretation of urban themes unrelated to their immediate environment. The flowing brushstrokes thicken into the roundness of the marks which distinguish the tiny figures that crowd Piazza della Signoria, and form the distinctive stylistic feature which allows us to attribute this painting to Carlo Canella. Another version of this painting is part of the collection of the Bardini and Peyron Foundation in Florence.