Giovanni Antonio Canal, called Canaletto

With inscriptions in red on the reverse CK [or possibly CH] Collection and CK [or CH] Collection [P?]... [C/G] R.F.;
Jacob Polackh (according to Kozakiewicz, see lit.);
Consul Eduard Friedrich Weber, Hamburg, by whom brought from Munich in 1878 (as by Guardi);
His (deceased) sale, Berlin, Lepke, 20-22 February 1912, lot 172 (as by Bellotto);
Private Collection, England;
With Thomas Agnew & Sons, Ltd., London, 1950 (nos. 14318, 14319);
From whom purchased by Lady Seymour Lloyd, London, March 1951;
Thence by descent to her grand-daughter, Mrs. Charles Plouviez, London;
By whom sold, London, Christie's, 10 April 1987, lot 59;
Where acquired by Thomas Agnew & Sons, Ltd., London;
From whom acquired by the present owner in 1988.

London, Thomas Agnew & Sons, Ltd., Summer Exhibition, June - July 1950, nos. 32, 34:
King's Lynn, Guildhall of Saint George, Exhibition of Venetian Pictures from the 14^th to the 18^th Century, 25 July - 8 August 1959, nos. 27, 28.

F. Harck, "Quadri di maestri italiani nelle Gallerie private di Germania, III.  La Galleria Weber di Amburgo," in Archivio Storico dell'Arte, IV, 1891, p. 89 (as by Bellotto);
W.G. Constable, Canaletto:  Giovanni Antonio Canal 1697-1768, London 1962 [and subsequent editions, revised by J.G. Links], vol. I, pls. 25, 36; vol. II, nos. 75, 157, reproduced;
L. Puppi, L'Opera completa del Canaletto, Milan 1968, nos. 188, 189A, reproduced;
S. Kozakiewicz, Bernardo Bellotto, London 1972, vol. II, p. 420, no. Z113 (as whereabouts and appearance unknown);
J.G. Links, Canaletto. The Complete Paintings, London 1981, p. 30, under no. 74;
A. Mariuz, Canaletto:  Una Venezia immaginaria, Milan 1985, vol. II, p. 649, nos. P 303, P 304, reproduced;
R. Merrington, in Agnew's 1982-1992, London 1992, p. 84, reproduced in color. 

"The following condition report has been provided by Sarah Walden, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. These two paintings are on fine canvas laid down on fairly thin pine board. There are two little vertical repairs (about an inch long, one in each painting) possibly tears, and occasional other little retouchings, suggesting that the paintings were laid down after those accidental damages occurred, although apparently soon, in the eighteenth century, and clearly there is no sign of stretcher bar lines or tacking edges, nor that they were trimmed. Above all the dazzling quality of the surface distinguishes them from paintings that have not been supported in this way. There is a slight wrinkle to one side of the Piazzetta painting where the canvas may once have partially detached itself, but both paintings are clearly entirely stable and secure. Both have been restored in the last twenty-five years. The Piazzetta with the Corner of the Doge's Palace. The little vertical retouching mentioned above is in the centre to the left of the column, with two other minor small retouchings near the wrinkling of the canvas on the right; small retouchings also in the top left corner and near the top right corner (suggesting fastenings conceivably, had the paintings perhaps been painted in the open air). The astonishingly pristine texture stems both from the added protection given by the support behind in comparison with relining, and also from oil characteristically stiffened in the sun to retain each impasted brushstroke. The luminosity of the brushwork is based on the vivid blue ground, and even the smallest touches for instance to the masts by the far horizon are perfectly unworn and intact. The Corner of the Quay of the Dogana. A similar little vertical retouching mentioned above is slightly to the left of centre with two other small retouchings nearby. One other is near the mast in the centre and by the left edge. The edges in both paintings have occasional minor retouchings. The extraordinarily decisive brushwork has survived with all its crisp impasto intact. This report was not done under laboratory conditions."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Depicting a corner of the Piazzetta and the quay of the Dogana, Venice, the present pair of small pictures is freely painted with bold areas of impasto, especially in the highlights. That the Quay of the Dogana bears an early, probably 18^th century, inscription on a label on the reverse "Canaletto.fe" makes it all the more surprising that both paintings were attributed first to Guardi and then to Bellotto in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.  Although the attribution was not questioned by Constable, it was considered less than certain when Christie's catalogued the paintings for sale in 1985.  Nevertheless, such doubts were withdrawn before the sale, as the attribution was enthusiastically endorsed by Byam Shaw and others. 

In the Piazzetta, the southwest corner of the Ducal Palace is visble to the left, while in the immediate right foreground there is a partial view of the column of Saint Theodore.  Canaletto has depicted the column of Saint Mark, with its winged lion, just to the right of center, with the Riva degli Schiavoni beyond.  The composition is balanced by two figures, bathed in sunlight, standing in conversation at the center of the plaza, while a larger group, in shadow, stands to the left.  In the Quay of the Dogana, the portico and the end of the quay dominate the foreground, with small craft, including a sailboat with a vibrant yellow and red striped canopy, moored alongside.  Two figures converse on the quay while others attend to the boats and rest alongside the building.  In the distance, the Giudecca, with the Chiesa della Croce, the Redentore and S. Giacomo (now destroyed) appear from left to right on the skyline.  The calm waters and hazy atmospheric effects in both works suggest a warm summer's day.  The composition seems to relate to another, larger composition in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (inv. no.  GG_6331), dated to circa 1724-1730.  In the present painting, Constable notes that the portico of the Dogana is shown as supported by two columns without the two piers which in reality flank them.  He also states that the lion of Saint Mark is facing the wrong way, suggesting that "it is significant that both pictures have topographical blunders, rare in Canaletto's work" (Constable, op. cit. p. 261).  In fact, the lion of Saint Mark is not facing the wrong way, and the taking of liberties over topographical accuracy is characteristic of Canaletto's oeuvre, as he regularly alters or supresses features of the cityscape and architecture in his images.

Given the unusually sketchy execution of these works, perhaps only seen elsewhere in Canaletto's work in The Puppet Show in the Piazzetta (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, inv. no. A147), it is tempting to see in them a plein air execution.  Such a hypothesis must be made extremely carefully, however, especially given the fact that no confirmed examples of plein air painting are known in Canaletto's oeuvre.  Nevertheless, their painterly finish, atmospheric handling, and the low, street-level view points do evoke an artist working in situ.  The small scale of both works also lends credence to this conjecture, as they could have been easily transported from studio to location and back again.  In the Piazzetta especially, the rapid, sketch-like execution can be observed in the uppermost level of the Doge's Palace, the corner of which seems to be dematerializing into the atmosphere.  Whether actually executed en plein air, or sketched out of doors and finished in the studio, the immediacy of the present works is particularly appealing to the modern viewer.

Constable, who saw these paintings on 6 June 1950, incorrectly stated that they are painted on panel.  In fact, they are on canvas, which was likely laid down on soft wood (probably pine) panels before the execution of the paintings.  There are no other instances of Canaletto using such a support, although he did occasionally use mahogany panel as a support during his time in London.  While Constable did not suggest a date for these works, Puppi's proposed dating to 1740-1745 is certainly too late, and Mariuz's of 1731-1746 is probably also slightly too late.  Charles Beddington has suggested that dating them to the late 1720s seems most probable based on stylistic comparisons to other works from this period. 

We are grateful to Charles Beddington for his assistance in the cataloguing of the present lot.