A broad stretch of the Grand Canal fills the foreground, its greenish waters busy with gondolas and larger boats clustered along the right bank. On the left, sunlight strikes the pale façades of Venetian palazzi, their windows and arcades reflected softly in the water below. Gondoliers stand at the sterns of their boats, propelling passengers through the canal with long oars, while figures in the foreground cluster in conversation or prepare to disembark.

A group of moored vessels, some with covered cargo holds, occupies the right edge, their dark hulls and ochre tarpaulins contrasting with the luminous canal. Further back, the canal bends gently to the left, leading the gaze toward a distant cluster of buildings and the faint silhouette of the Rialto Bridge beneath a dramatic sky. The architecture rises in rhythmic succession, each façade rendered with crisp lines and subtle variations in color, from warm ochres and creams to cooler greys.

A bell tower rises above the rooftops on the left, its spire cutting into the expanse of cloud-filled sky. The sky dominates the upper half of the painting, filled with swirling clouds that shift from pale white to deep blue, casting a shifting light over the city. Shadows fall across the right-hand buildings and boats, while the central canal remains bathed in a gentle, diffused glow.

The brushwork varies from the precise lines of windows and rigging to softer, more fluid strokes in the water and sky, creating a sense of atmosphere and movement. The composition is carefully balanced, with the canal forming a diagonal axis that draws together the architectural masses and the activity on the water. Painted in 1724, Grand Canal: Looking North-East toward the Rialto Bridge is the work of Giovanni Antonio Canal, known as Canaletto.