Bernardo Bellotto (1721-1780) received his first training in the Venetian studio of his mother's brother, the famous Antonio Canal (Canaletto). The beginnings of his artistic career were inextricably linked to his uncle, whose vedutas he studied in depth. Around 1742, he went to Rome to continue his painterly education. In 1748, he became a court painter in Dresden. The artistic patronage of King August III of Poland fostered a cosmopolitan atmosphere and enriched the already refined Saxon court. In Saxony, Bellotto created impressive cycles of vedutas. He stayed there, with interruptions, for a total of a dozen years. In 1768, he became court painter to the Polish King Stanisław August Poniatowski. He was nicknamed 'Canaletto' in Warsaw.

The museum that houses the painting in question is one of the most famous museums in eastern Germany, presenting military history (mainly the German army over the centuries). From the Polish point of view, it is worth noting that there are also exhibits from the times of the Polish-Saxon Union, as well as from the bombing of Wieluń (Łódzkie Voivodeship) on 1 September 1939 by the German Luftwaffe.

Technical data: oil, canvas; 60 x 100 cm.