mheu, Historical Museum of the Urban Environment

The artist

Giuseppe Canella was born in Verona, Italy, in 1788, where his father worked as a stage designer. He came to France in 1823, following the Austrian ambassador. He stayed in the country for nine years, traveling through Normandy (Place de la Haute-Vieille-Tour, Rouen, 1824) and Alsace, where he painted mainly landscapes.

In Paris, he was captivated by life around the central market, Les Halles, which Napoleon I wanted to transform by erecting huge buildings.

This otherwise unremarkable picture shows the importance Canella attached to architecture. He appears to have been greatly interested by the field, and it is as a painter of architecture that he made a name for himself in Milan, where he lived. He died in 1847 in Florence.