Federico del Campo

Sale: Christie's, London, November 9, 2001, lot 113, illustrated
Richard Green Fine Paintings, London
Acquired from the above by the present owner

"Ah Venice!" Who hasn't dreamt of traveling to the floating city, settling into a gondola, drifiting along the Grand Canal?  Del Campo's painting captures this wish skillfully, depicting the charm of  this special place. The breezy brushstrokes and the light toned palette make this moment in Venice so alive and real that one almost feels the warmth of a summer day, a sensation heightened by the red sunshade held by the elegant woman (perhaps a tourist) seated in the foreground gondola. The wind seems to blow just enough to create ripples across the water and ruffle slightly the rich golden curtains of one of the grand facades of the city's most majestic Palazzi.  The gondola floats along the water as the clouds float through the sky.  The bright vibrant color of the composition is like a color post-card, itself a souvenir.