Art Attack: SO Much to See, Part 2

Dear Imaginary Friend,

Are you a fan of the master artists? I certainly am, and I just love trekking to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, in our home town.

Today, my friend Joan and I did a blitzkrieg museum visit.

In the East Wing Building alone, we saw an extensive exhibit of Canaletto and his Rivals, and then Gauguin, and then Small French Paintings.

Then we walked the length, back and forth, of the West Wing, seeing the Impressionist Chester Dale Collection.

My hoofies are killing me!

Such beauties! (The paintings, not my feet.)
I was especially interested in the Canaletto show, because last year, I painted the Grand Canal of Venice, which believe me, was a total bear of a painting, especially because my canvas was about 40" wide by 30" tall. 

The amount of detail that went into Canaletto's masterpieces is mind-blowing. His work makes me feel like a lazy slug. I would love to know several things: Did he have many apprentices helping him? What would be the equivalent price of his canal scenes in today's dollars, US? How long did these masterpieces take to complete? Did he become wealthy from his art? Where can I get some uber-talented apprentices who work for free? (requirement: they must be better painters than I am...)
If you know the answer to any of the above questions, please respond in the comments section. I would love to know!

Visiting art museums is a two pronged emotional event. On the one hand, it inspires me to reach higher and be my absolute best.

On the other hand, it makes me feel like a loser who cannot hold a candle-etto to Canaletto.

I am hoping that he had some egregious faults, like really crummy hair, plenty of acne, or bad posture, at the very least. If I am lucky, he had scads of teenagers with attitude, a gambling problem, and tight shoes.

Now that I have vented, I feel better, although my hoofies still hurt. Must be my tight shoes.

Your Imaginary Artist Friend,

Patsie