Although his reputation and fame are associated primarily with his striking views of Venice, Canaletto probably began his career as a painter of vedute (views) in Rome, in 1719 and 1720, assisting his father with painting theater sets. The archaeological wonders experienced by the young Canaletto in Rome nurtured his visual vocabulary for this later drawing, which is not his typical capriccio (where real buildings are grouped in an imaginary way) but rather a rare and accurate view of the Arch of Constantine seen from north, with the Meta Sudans (the now-destroyed large conical fountain) still in place. Canaletto must have achieved his accurate topography by referencing an earlier drawing or perhaps a painting of his nephew, Bernardo Bellotto.