If I could go on holiday in any National Gallery painting, I would pick
Canaletto's 'A Regatta on the Grand Canal' of about 1740,
because who could resist this vast expanse of sky,
the twinkling water, and all the gorgeous Venetian architecture. What's more, this looks
to me like a really fun day to be visiting Venice. The scene we are looking at takes
place during the annual carnival regatta. Venice has long been celebrated for its carnival
antics, and you can see that some of the spectators are wearing the traditional carnival outfit
of the white mask and black cape. What we're looking at here is a race of light, one-oared
gondolas making their way up the Grand Canal. You can see them making their way up the centre
of the picture. But in a way, these competitors and their tiny crafts get rather overshadowed
by all the pomp and celebration and festivity going on around them. We can see enormous,
elaborately decorated gondolas, complete with cherubs, gods, and palm fronds. Every window
seems to have a flag hanging from it, and people peering out desperate to see the race
going on below. So to me this seems like a great time to be visiting Venice, to be out
on the water, in a carnival costume, and if it all gets too much you can just lie back
and watch the fun from your own private gondola.