Francesco Guardi

With Derek Johns, London;
Where purchased by Giancarlo Baroni.

New York, Master Paintings and Sculpture, Jean-Luc Baroni Ltd., 16 January - 31 February 2003, no. 15a (where loaned by Giancarlo Baroni). 

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 panel is restored. The panel is flat, and the paint layer is stable. There are no retouches of any note in the sky. There are a few isolated spots of retouching in the darker colors, but the good sharpness to the composition indicates a very healthy condition. Guardi's thin black lines throughout the architecture are un-abraded and beautifully preserved, which certainly is an indication of the very good 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."

This Architectural capriccio with figures by a ruined arch displays Francesco Guardi's remarkable skill in creating enchanting and convincing views from a pastiche of invented components.  This work bears striking compositional similarities to another Guardi capriccio on canvas, now in the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian collection, Lisbon, which includes an almost identical arch, positioning of figures and domed building beyond.¹  In the Gulbenkian picture, however, the arch spans a stretch of water and though the figures in the foreground are comparable in pose, they hold a fishing rod and bend to attend a basket rather than a bundle of long canes.  The rendering of these two works meanwhile differs considerably; the handling of the Gulbenkian picture is much looser, perhaps due to its larger dimensions, while in the present work, Guardi's approach is meticulous, using fine black marks to outline detailing in the architecture, to accentuate the tendrils of vegetation, the crumbling stonework in the arch and the porticoes of the building beyond.  The result is a sharp and immediate image and an augmented sense of bright, natural light.

Pallucchini suggested a date of execution between 1770 and 1780 for the Gulbenkian picture.  Given the parallels between that work and the present lot, it may be considered to have been executed in the same decade and is therefore a superb example of Guardi's mature period.  We are grateful to David Marshall for endorsing an attribution to Francesco Guardi on the basis of photographs.

1.  R. Pallucchini, Francesco Guardi, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon 1965, cat. no. XII, reproduced.