Ippolito Caffi

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This pair of paintings, both painted on paper and mounted onto linen, is in beautiful condition. The paintings are both dirty and will respond well to cleaning. There seem to be no structural damages to either painting and essentially there are no retouches either. Both paintings are in wonderful condition.
"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."

Following in the tradition of the great 18^th century vedutisti such as Canaletto, Guardi and Bellotto, Caffi was one of the most accomplished view painters of the first half of the 19^th century.  Caffi's early artistic training was in Belluno and Padua.  From 1827-31 he studied in Venice at the Accademia di Belle Arte before moving to Rome in 1832.  His residence in Rome was crucial to his artistic development and he soon achieved fame for his depictions of the many monuments and piazzas of the Eternal City.  His mastery of spatial construction led him to publish a textbook on perspective, Lezioni di prospettiva prattica, in 1835.  Caffi also took great interest in capturing the effects of light and atmosphere in his works and sometimes painted the same view repeatedly at different times of the day.  In addition, he became known for his nocturnal scenes depicting the effects of artificial or lunar light. Caffi painted several variants of the View of the Tiber with the Castel Sant'Angelo, one of which is in the collection of Ca'Pesaro, Venice (inv. 1839), and several of which can be found in private collections.¹  Another variant of the View of the Roman Forum can be found in the Avon Caffi collection, Venice.²

1.  See A. Scarpa, Caffi, Luci del Mediterraneo, exhibition catalogue,  Belluno 2005, cat. nos. 44-46, reproduced.
2.  See M. Pittaluga, Il pittore Ippolito Caffi, Vicenza 1971, no. 16, reproduced.