# Architectural Capriccio with a Self-Portrait [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [BELLOTTO, Bernardo]() - Date: 1751-1800 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 155 x 112 cm ## Commentary Architectural Capriccio with a Self-Portrait c. 1765 Oil on canvas, 155 x 112 cm Private collection In this architectural capriccio Bernardo Bellotto has depicted himself in the crimson robes and golden stole of the Venetian nobility, standing before a magnificent arrangement of columned arches and colonnaded galleries. He steps forward with a gesture of proud display, as if inviting the viewer to behold and admire his latest artistic creation - the splendid painted architectural capriccio before which he stands - as proof of his artistic capabilities and invention. Attended by his faithful servant Checo \(Francesco\), he is followed by an elderly ecclesiastic carrying a folder, which may contain sketches. At the left, a young peasant boy points to Bellotto as if to encourage the viewer to take particular note of the splendidly-dressed painter. Bellotto inserted himself into the compositions of important paintings on other occasions, too. ## Related artworks - [Capriccio of the Capitol]() - [Capriccio Padovano]() - [Capriccio with the Colosseum]() - [Dresden from the Left Bank of the Elbe, below the Fortifications]() - [Dresden from the Right Bank of the Elbe, above the Augustusbrücke]() - [Dresden, the Frauenkirche and the Rampische Gasse]() - [Dresden, the Ruins of the Pirnaische Vorstadt]() - [Dresden, the Ruins of the Pirnaische Vorstadt]() - [Liechtenstein Garden Palace in Vienna Seen from the East]() - [Liechtenstein Garden Palace in Vienna Seen from the East]() - [New Market Square in Dresden from the Jüdenhof]() - [New Market Square in Dresden]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()