Bernardo Bellotto (January 30, 1720 — October 17, 1780) was an Italian urban landscape painter or vedutista, and printmaker in etching famous for his vedutes of European cities (Dresden, Vienna, Turin and Warsaw).
He was the pupil and nephew of Canaletto and sometimes used the latter's illustrious name, signing himself as Bernardo Canaletto — fraudulently, according to some. Especially in Germany, paintings attributed to Canaletto may actually be by Bellotto rather than by his uncle; in Poland, they are by Bellotto, who is known there as "Canaletto".
Bellotto's style was characterized by elaborate representation of architectural and natural vistas, and by the specific quality of each place's lighting. Like his uncle and many other Venetian masters of vedute, he used the camera obscura in order to achieve the superior precision of his urban views.
Bellotto was born in Venice, the son of Lorenzo Antonio Bellotto and Fiorenza Canal, sister of the then famous Canaletto, and studied in his uncle's workshop.
His paintings of Warsaw were used in rebuilding the city after its near-complete destruction in World War II.
The Neustadter Market in Dresden Movement: Rococo Art Collection: Gemäldegallerie Alte Meister, Dresden Dimensions: 134 x 236 cm Date: 1750 Artist: Bernardo Bellotto
