Federico del Campo

Arthur Tooth & Sons, London
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, April 18, 2007, lot 39, illustrated
MacConnal-Mason, London

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This work is in excellent condition. The canvas has a light glue lining. The paint layer is clean and varnished. There are a few tiny retouches in the upper right corner and in the white cloud above the architecture on the left. The work should be hung in its current state.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Federico del Campo's panoramic view captures the Zattere, meaning raft, built as a dock in the early sixteenth century to accommodate the delivery of timber for ships and buildings. For centuries, Venice was a critical hub of global commerce, with silk, grains, spices and other exotic goods moving east to west via her formidable maritime fleets. Painted in 1884, the present work could be perceived as del Campo's tribute to Venice's grand history of trade. Red-coated gondoliers, waiting for their next passenger, crowd in front of the Renaissance façade of the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Visitazione. At the center of this composition, bright yellow cargo is off-loaded from the sea-going two-masted brig to the smaller peàta, a cargo boat built specifically to transport goods through Venice’s rios. The brightly-colored sails of flat-bottomed bragozzo flutter as they carry goods across the calm waters of the canal to the island of Giudecca. This bustling view would have been among the first of La Serenissima for many visitors as traghetto and vaporetto launches from the Venice train station made their first landing on the Zattere just beyond Chiesa di Santa Maria del Rosario, more commonly referred to as I Gesuati.

Distinguished by its commanding Corinthian columns, I Gesuati stands on the Fondamenta delle Zattere facing the Giudecca canal. Designed by the famed architect Giorgio Massari and consecrated in 1743, the interior features ceilings executed by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and altars painted by Sebastiano Ricci and Tintoretto. Baedeker’s Italy, Handbook for Travellers, an indispensable guide for any tourist, listed I Gesuati and the Zattere on their Venetian “plan of visit,” touting the pretty views of the famed churches of Il Redentore and San Giorgio Maggiore – visible in the right distance - an ideal location only a three-minute walk from the Gallerie dell’Accademia (Baedeker’s Italy, Handbook for Travellers, Volume 1, London, 1892, p. 245).