Early Life, Family and Training Giovanni Antonio Canal, known to many as Canaletto, was born in Venice, Italy, on October 18, 1697. He grew up in a house where the lines of perspective and the illusion of space were part of daily life. His father, Bernardo Canal, was a painter who specialized in theatrical scene settings, and his mother was Artemisia Barbieri. From a young age, Canaletto watched how his father constructed the backdrops for the stage, learning how to make a flat surface appear as a deep, receding street or a grand hall. His formal training began under his father's watchful e…