Bernardo Bellotto (c. 1721/2[1][2] or 30 January 1721[3] – 17 November 1780),[3] was an Italian[4] urban landscape painter or vedutista, and printmaker in etching famous for his vedute of European cities – Dresden, Vienna, Turin, and Warsaw.

This caused some confusion, however Bellotto’s work is more sombre in color than Canaletto's and his depiction of clouds and shadows brings him closer to Dutch painting.

[citation needed] His international reputation grew, and in 1758 he accepted an invitation from Empress Maria Theresa to come to Vienna,[1] where he painted views of the city's monuments.

On his way to Saint Petersburg, however, Bellotto accepted an invitation in 1764 from Poland's newly elected King Stanisław August Poniatowski to become his court painter in Warsaw from 1768.

[8] In 1769 the painter and his son Lorenzo (1744–1770) accomplished another large royal commission – fourteen views of Rome, ancient and papal, based on the collection of etchings by Giovanni Battista Piranesi entitled Vedute di Roma.

[3] Bellotto's early work bears strong features of his uncle's style, becoming more individual and distinguished in later years with clear inspiration of Dutch landscape painting with massed clouds, cast shadows and rich foliage.

[3] The last period of the artist's work is assessed as distinct from the earlier stages with emphasis on the immediacy of observation, striving for a generic treatment of staffage,[8] ability to capture the atmosphere of the place[1] and visible transformation of his painting which become more colorful with warmer tones.