The artwork, titled “The Vigil of Santa Marta,” was created by the artist Canaletto around the year 1760 in Italy. Executed in oil on canvas, this piece belongs to the Rococo art movement. The dimensions of the artwork are 19 x 28.2 cm, and it falls under the genre of veduta, which is a detailed and accurate depiction of cityscapes or landscapes. Presently, the artwork is housed in the Gemäldegalerie located in Berlin, Germany.
The artwork captures a nocturnal scene, featuring a bustling gathering of people along the shoreline under the glow of a bright, full moon in a star-studded sky. On the right side, buildings line the shore, characterized by soft, muted lighting from the windows and street lamps. People are depicted engaging in various activities, creating a vivid, lively ambiance in stark contrast to the tranquil night sky. The meticulous details in the architecture and the precise rendering of the crowd exemplify the artist’s mastery in portraying urban scenes with a high degree of realism and intricacy, true to the veduta genre.