This is probably Canaletto’s last great depiction of this popular view. The church of Santa Maria della Salute, built by Baldassare Longhena (1597–1682) as a votive church after the plague epidemic of 1630–31, is in shadow. A shaft of morning sunlight spreads across the water of the Canal on to the buildings opposite, which are lower in height, accentuating the mass of the Salute. The magnificent view of the Salute is amongst the last paintings commissioned by Smith. In 1746 Smith arranged for Canaletto to travel to Britain, where he stayed for almost ten years.