A Feast for the Eyes
European Masterpieces
By Aaron R. Fodiman
Italy’s Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) created this magnificent view of the Grand
Canal in Venice that would most likely have been purchased by a tourist as a remembrance.
Canaletto’s ability to capture the exquisite details that appear throughout this work made him
one of the most popular artists of this period.
The Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg has helped Juan
Manuel Grasset share his private collection of 17th and
18th century paintings by Dutch, Flemish, Italian, German
and Spanish artists. He amassed the collection over five
decades, and it would have remained in his home in Madrid,
Spain, if it were not for the museum’s Executive Director Kristen
Shepherd and Grasset’s daughter Cristina Grasset, who worked
together to bring these paintings to St. Petersburg.
GRASSET COLLECTION
MAY/JUNE 2019 | TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 57