Giovanni Antonio Guardi

Richard White, 2nd Earl of Bantry (1800–68), Bantry House, Co. Cork, by whom possibly purchased (with others of the set) in Italy in the 1820s;
By descent to Mrs Shelswell-White;
By whom sold in 1955 to a Dublin dealer;
Geoffrey Merton, London;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 27 November 1963, lot 49 (as Francesco Guardi), for £8,000 to Graham;
With Neville Orgel, London.

M. Muraro, 'The Guardi Problem and the Statutes of the Venetain Guilds', in The Burlington Magazine, CII, no. 691, October 1960, pp. 422 and 428, fig. 10 (as by Francesco Guardi under the direction of Gian Antonio Guardi);
F.J.B. Watson, 'The Guardi Family of Painters', in the Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, March 1966, vol. 114, no. 5116, pp. 266–89;
D. Mahon, The Brothers at the Mosta dei Guardi: some Impressions of a Neophyte, in Problemi Guardeschi (Atti del Convegno di Studi promosso dalla Mostra dei Guardi, Venezia, 13-14 Settembre 1965), Venice 1967, p. 94, no. 84;
A. Morassi, Guardi. I dipinti, Venice 1973, vol I, pp. 320 and 322, no. 72, and II, fig. 87;
L. Rossi Bortolatto, L'opera complete di Francesco Guardi, Milan 1974, no. 23, reproduced;
F. Pedrocco in F. Pedrocco and F. Montecuccoli degli Erri, Antonio Guardi, Milan 1992, pp. 141 and 143, no. 157, fig. 205;
M. Merling in The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue, Italian Paintings of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, Washington 1996, pp. 149, 155, note 18, and 156, note 40;
G. Knox, 'The Tasso Cycles of Giambattista Tiepolo and Gianantonio Guardi', in Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies, Chicago 1978, vol. 9, pp. 89–95, reproduced p. 94, fig. 30.

The canvas has a firm relining that has somewhat pressed the paint surface. A seam, running vertically 2/3 to the right of the canvas is visible in raking light. There are no major damages visible to the naked eye. Inspection under ultra violet light reveals a campaign of well executed restoration, a few small old restored tears, and scattered retouchings and strengthenings throughout. The blue of the sky in the background in lighter in tone than the catalogue image suggests, and the other lively colours are well preserved. The varnish is clear and even.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Rinaldo was the hero of Torquato Tasso's epic poem La Gerusalemme Liberata, completed in 1575 and published in 1581. The poem is set at the time of the First Crusade and follows the vicissitudes of fighting Christians and Saracens. In his 1923 monograph of Francesco Guardi, Giuseppe Fiocco records a small canvas depicting The Entry of Suleiman into Jerusalem in the Alverà collection, Venice.¹ He notes a tradition attached to the painting which indicated that it was one of a series of fourteen scenes from Tasso's epic poem, which had originally decorated a palace at Este. This La Gerusalemme Liberata series were reported to be loosely based on Piazzetta's illustrations to the sumptuous 1745 edition by the Venetian publisher Gian Battista Albrizzi. 

In 1955, a further eight canvases from this set were discovered in a garden shed in Ireland and, following the inclusion of four of the set in the Guardi exhibition in the Palazzo Grassi, Venice in 1965, have since been split up.² The two largest canvases are in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, whilst the others are in the Ferens Art Gallery, Kingston-Upon-Hull; the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen; the Galleria dell' Accademia, Venice; the Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena; and the Musée de Beaux-Arts de Montreal.

Whilst scholars agree on an execution date for the series between 1745 and 1750, there has been much debate on the attribution of the different scenes from the set. Their style was first recognised as ‘Guardesque’ soon after the rediscovery of the canvasses in Ireland in 1955, and scholars agreed that different hands are visible throughout the set, but most now concur with Antonio Morassi (op. cit.) in attributing all to Giovanni Antonio Guardi, with assistance from his workshop and collaborators, perhaps including his brothers Francesco and Nicolò. For a proposal of the scheme in which the canvasses may have been hung in the palace for which they were commissioned see George Knox's article of 1978, p. 90.

1. G. Fiocco, Francesco Guardi, Florence 1923, p. 74, cat. no. 7, reproduced plate IV.
2. For details of those canvases included see the exhibition see the catalogue: La Mostra dei Guardi, Venice 1965, nos 45–48.