The secret of the gondola

the long version

Surveying the scene from the Dogana, Canaletto seems to have stumbled upon a murder taking place before him and put it in his painting. To decipher the episode depicted in the Bacino, Jeremy exploited several functions of his smartphone. The informational apps provided the context for the murder, while the camera captured its image in the painting. Jeremy wondered whether Canaletto had not also viewed the event through the portable camera of his day--the camera obscura, used as an aid to drawing outdoors. ... Jeremy could just imagine how Canaletto, breathless with excitement, had quickly sketched the momentary image projected on the screen.