Walter Richard Sickert, A.R.A

Bernheim Jeune, Paris

The following condition report was prepared by the restorer Hamish Dewar Structural Condition The artist's canvas is unlined on what would certainly appear to be the original stretcher. This is ensuring an even and secure structural support with no evidence of any structural intervention in the past. Paint surface The paint surface has a remarkably discoloured varnish layer and a considerable amount of surface dirt and grime. Cleaning would undoubtedly result in a transformation in the overall appearance and a wonderful colour change. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows just a few very small areas of retouching that fluoresce unevenly under ultra-violet light. These are of minimal size. It should be noted that there is a marked pattern of drying craquelure in the paler pigments. This would have been caused by the natural drying processes of the artist's materials and is entirely stable and not progressive. From observing the upper right corner, where there is less surface dirt due to the framing sight edge, I think that the craquelure will be less obvious after cleaning. If the craquelure was found to be visually distracting, each line could be infilled and inpainted with very fine lines of retouching to reduce their visual effect. Summary The painting therefore has an exceptional layer of dirt and discoloured varnish and the potential to be transformed by cleaning and revarnishing Please telephone the department on 020 7293 5381 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"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."

Sickert made the first of many visits to Venice in 1895 and began a long association with the city. The exceptionally impressive architecture coupled with the distinctive effect of water had long provided artists with source material and this was no different for Sickert who was inspired by all the great monuments including San Marco, the Rialto and in the case of the present work, the Santa Maria della Salute at the opening of the Grand Canal. Indeed, the earliest known dated work from his first visit is a Whistlerian view of The Dogana and Santa Maria della Salute (1896, Private Collection, see Wendy Baron, Sickert Paintings and Drawings, Yale University Press, New Haven and London 2006, no.111). In contrast to the elegance of the more obvious sites, Sickert was also fascinated by the juxtaposition of the grandiose facades with the quiet warren of passages and waterways that lay behind and which particularly appealed to his eye for the shabby ordinariness of everyday life that played its part in his later Camden Town series.

The church of the Santa Maria della Salute was built in the 17^th Century in gratitude to the Virgin after the Plague of 1630. Sickert's first known works to include the Church focused on the building from a distance as part of a panoramic sweep of that part of the canal. The acute angle of the present work where the bold architecture becomes more apparent and the church literally surges out of the water, was first adopted circa 1901 (see Baron, ibid., no.168).

It is interesting that Sickert's Venetian subjects were particularly popular in France and when the great Impressionist dealers Bernheim Jeune in Paris held an exhibition of his work in June 1904, 32 out of the 96 works were Venetian subjects. The present work may have been exhibited in the later Bernheim Jeune exhibition in 1907. 

We are grateful to Dr Wendy Baron for her kind assistance with the cataloguing of this lot.