Image: Canaletto, The Square of Saint Mark’s, Venice (1742/1744). Oil on canvas.

On Saturdays, we like to post about art. Often the subject is something related to the food world that matches what we post about on other days.  Today, we are flagging a painting of Venice. La Serenissima is facing some of its worst flooding in years.  So we celebrate Venice.  We also celebrate one of the great Venetian painters, Giovanni Antonio Canal, better known as Canaletto (to distinguish from his father, a notable local painter).

Canaletto was born in Venice in October 1697.  He made his name taking advantage of foreign travelers – especially the British – who wanted something to remind them of Venice after they returned home.  Eventually Canaletto would move to England for an extended period.

This painting is in the holdings of the National Gallery of Art, but currently not on view.  St. Mark’s Square was closed to the public yesterday due to the flooding.  So we offer it here to make up.

We almost went with a work by Claude Monet, whose paintings of the city are iconic.  And it was his birthday this past week!  But sometimes you can’t go for the cliche.

In Washington, the chill seems a little less biting.  If you are thinking of heading out for dinner in town be sure to check out our dining guide.  In includes more than 200 recommended restaurants that you can sort by cuisine, neighborhood, and/or rating!  In both MAP or LIST format.

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