Bernardo was not a happy guy. His life stunk, but then again, so did the lives of all the other court painters in his days. Kissing up to the local princelings to get a new contract every few years wasn’t exactly all fun and games. And then, there was his uncle - Canaletto – also an artist. More famous. More esteemed. And more in demand.
Bernardo started to sign his paintings with the uncle’s name, and finally saw his career move forward. And “Bernardo Bellotto Canaletto” sounded so more artistic and refined, anyway. So much in fact, that it caught the eye of that crazy empress in Russia, who invited him to come over.
The way from Dresden to St. Petersburg led through Poland. Bernardo stopped by in Warsaw and met with the local king. That king, Stanisław II August Poniatowski was a total loser when it came to politics, and couldn’t care less that Poland was about to be partitioned among her neighbors, but he did love art, fine music, and theater. And he was known for supporting starving Italian artists, like that other fellow – Bacciarelli.
). And young people often use it's shortened form "nara" (just like you said) 