Friedrich Nerly

Private Collection, France (by 1970)

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This work is in beautiful condition. The canvas has a glue lining. The paint layer is stable. It is well varnished. There is retouching to a vertical loss measuring 1 ½ inches immediately to the left of the gondola in the lower right. There may be a couple of other spots of retouching, but none are evident.
"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."

Friedrich Nerlich first travelled to Italy in 1828 with his mentor, the writer and art collector, Carl Friedrich Freiher von Rumohr.  It was a life-changing experience for the artist, who subsequently changed his name to the Italianate Nerly and went on to live in Rome for six years following his teacher’s departure, ultimately settling in Venice.  From his studio in the Palazzo Pisani, near to the Campo San Stefano, Nerly absorbed and recorded the breathtaking views which are now celebrated as his life’s work.

Demand for representations of the timeless vistas of Venice began in the eighteenth century, when wealthy travelers on the Grand Tour would commission artists such as Canaletto and Guardi to create panoramic views as souvenirs of their travels to Italy.  In the present work, Nerly looks east along the Grand Canal, from the mid-sixteenth century Palazzo Papadopoli with roof-top obelisks on the left and the Gothic Palazzo Corner Contarini on the right, towards the celebrated Ponte di Rialto. The oldest and most famous of the four bridges crossing the Grand Canal, the Rialto connects the districts of San Marco and San Polo. Originally a bridge of boats from the late twelfth century, it was succeeded by a series of wooden structures before the present stone bridge designed by Antonio da Ponte with a central, covered portico was completed in 1591. 

The octagonal drum and onion dome of San Bartolomeo’s campanile can be seen above the palazzi to the right of the bridge. Rebuilt and re-dedicated to San Bartolomeo in 1170, the church was used from the 13th Century onwards by German merchants from the nearby Fondaco dei Tedeschi (the German merchants’ trading house best known to posterity for its early external fresco decoration by Giorgione and Titian), which can be seen behind the Rialto. Nerly’s highly detailed panorama also includes the impressive facade of the towering Palazzo Grimani, one of the finest Renaissance palaces designed by Michele Sanmichele in 1559 and painted by Canaletto (circa 1756-68, National Gallery, London), as well as the Venetian-Byzantine palaces of Ca’ Farsetti and Ca’ Loredan, built in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Palazzo Bembo and the Palazzo Dolfin-Marin, designed by Jacopo Sansovino, are depicted on the right with the Palazzo Giustinian Businello, next to Palazzo Papadopoli, on the left.

As Nerly’s beautiful, bustling canal scene shows, the Rialto was the heart of commercial life in Venice as heavily laden cargo ships from all over the world arrive to sell their merchandise: silk and spices from the far east, metalwork and textiles from north Italian traders, as well as ripe fruits and vegetables seen in the immediate foreground, draped in vibrant red and yellow fabrics.