The 2017/2018 Arts on Screen season at Eden Cinemas opens with Canaletto & the Art of Venice, a journey into the life and art of Venice’s famous view painter.

One of the paintings of Venice by Canaletto.

Giovanni Antonio Canal, better known as Canaletto, had a close relationship with Venice, the city in which he lived and died. But the world’s largest collection of his works resides in Britain as part of the Royal Collection. In 1762, George III purchased almost the entire collection amassed by Joseph Smith, British Consul in Venice and Canaletto’s principal agent.

Canaletto & the Art of Venice grants access to the Royal Collection’s holdings of Canaletto’s work, much of which is on display as part of the exhibition Canaletto & the Art of Venice at the Queen’s Gallery (which runs until November 12).

The group of over 200 paintings, drawings and prints on display offer insight into the artistry of Canaletto and his contemporaries and the city he became a master at capturing.

The film also offers the chance to step inside two official royal residences – Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle – to learn more about the artist and Joseph Smith, the man who introduced Canaletto to Britain.

The documentary also explores the origins of Canaletto’s art in Italy.  While appearing to be faithful representations of the city, Canaletto’s skill came from his manipulation of reality.

He moved buildings around or opened up vistas to create the perfect composition. His paintings of Venice were highly sought after by grand tourists – mainly upper class European young men of sufficient means and rank as well as young women when they had come of age.

His playful imagination extended into a new genre in which he excelled. The ‘capriccio’ combined real and fantasy architecture into imagined views.

Cinemagoers will see the sites immortalised in Canaletto’s views – from the Rialto Bridge to Piazza San Marco and the Palazzo Ducale to the church of Saints John and Paul.

Viewers will be guided by Royal Collection Trust curators and the world’s leading experts in Venetian history.

Canaletto & the Art of Venice will be screened tomorrow at the Eden Cinemas in St Julian’s at  3pm. For more information, visit edencinemas.com.mt or call on 2371 0400.