Apollonio Facchinetti, called Domenichini, formerly known as the Master of the Langmatt Foundation Views

Private collection, Italy.

This work is in very good condition, considering its scale and period. The canvas has an old Italian lining. It has not recently been cleaned, but it has been fairly carefully restored. The slightly dirty varnish not unattractive, and the work could certainly be hung in its current state. Under ultraviolet light, one can see isolated retouches in the sky. The most notable area of retouching is in the small clouds in the upper center. In the lower left, some thinness to the left of the Campanile has been restored. There is visible thinness on the left side of the sky, which shows a few isolated retouches. Slight thinness has also developed in some of the finer dark lines of the architecture and in the dark colors of the gondolas. The definition in the architecture has slightly weakened, and the shadowed side of the palazzo in the center has probably received some strengthening.
"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 and the following lot are among the artist's largest works. Domenichini's inclusion of the balustrade in front of the church of San Geremia and the statue of the 14th century martyr, Saint John Nepomuk to the left of the entrance of the Canareggio provide a useful terminus post quem for this painting. The statue was erected by Giovanni Marchiori in 1742 and thus the painting must have executed after that date.

A similar composition by the artist, painted from the same viewpoint, though much smaller in dimensions and with variations in the arrangement of the gondolas, is offered in this sale, lot 60.

We are grateful to Charles Beddington for endorsing the attribution on the basis of digital images.