Giovanni Antonio Canal, called Canaletto

Sale, London, Sotheby's, 23 May 1922, lot 45 (£66);
with Parsons, London;
Sir Chester Beatty;
Viscountess Powerscourt, her sale and others, London, Sotheby's, 1 July 1971, lot 38 (£5800 to Tan Bunzl);
The Edinburg collection, 
sale, New York, Sotheby's, 12 November 1987, lot 107

W.G. Constable, in the Burlington Magazine, June 1923, p. 248, illus.;
idem, Canaletto, Oxford 1962, vol. I, pl. 155; vol. 2, pp. 558-59, no. 823;
Stefan Kozakiewicz, Bernardo Bellotto, 1972, vol. II, p. 488, under no. Z398;
W.G. Constable, revised by J. G. Links, Canaletto, 1976, vol. 1, pl. 155, vol. II, p. 608, no. 823;
André Corboz, Canaletto, 1985, vol. II, p. 737, no. D132, illus. (as between 1747-1755);
W.G. Constable, revised by J.G. Links, Canaletto, Oxford 1989, vol. I, pl. 155; vol. II, p. 608, no. 823

 

The drawing is in good condition – the ink and wash fresh and unfaded. The illustration in the catalogue is slightly too pink in tone. At the upper right of the drawing, in the sky around the taller cupola, there are a number of tiny brownish-gray spots (visible in the illustration). These may have been the result of mold or the presence of metallic flecks in the paper that have tarnished over time. There was apparently an attempt to remove these spots, because the surface of the paper around them is abraded and slightly discolored. There are, in addition, a few similar spots near the figures in the walkway and in the adjacent archway, which are undisturbed. There are some tiny, pale brown spots in the upper left corner of the sky, three short, nearly vertical creases inherent in the manufacture of the paper above the building at the upper right and another similar crease in the distant landscape lower left. However, none of these disturb the harmony or overall effect of the drawing. The drawing is laid down on a sturdy album sheet and is sold in a gilt frame.
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.

As well as his well-known and admired precise topographical views of Italian and English locations, Canaletto produced many capricci, both drawn and painted, using fragments of ruined classical architecture in attractive compositions, often with watery settings. He often used the same elements in several works: for example, the pillared portico seen from the side, at the right edge of this study, appears in two other drawings, Constable nos. 824, 825.  Another drawing of the whole composition, with some differences, and unknown to Constable, appeared on the London art market in 1984.¹  Constable identified two painted compositions, known in several versions, with the elements of this drawing: his cat. no. 511 which is very similar and of the same proportions, and no. 512 which extends to the left and includes a ruined colonnade.

Corboz dates the drawing between 1747 and 1755; Constable does not give a dating although he confirms that one of the related paintings (his no.512) was probably of 1754. Beddington proposes that the earliest version of the most closely related painting, now in Baltimore (Constable 511(c)) probably predates slightly Canaletto's arrival in England, in 1746, though there is no way of knowing whether the drawing was executed before or after the painting.²

Although Constable and Links did not consider the inscription on this drawing to be autograph, Charles Beddington has kindly pointed out that the name is in the form that Canaletto himself generally used (and no-one else), and that he believes this is very likely an autograph signature. 

1. Sale, London, Christie's, 4 July 1984, lot 82; see J. G. Links, A Supplement to W.G. Constable's Canaletto, London 1998, p. 53, no. 825*, illus. pl. 240
2. C. Beddington, Canaletto in England, exhib. cat., New Haven, CT, Yale Center for British Art, and London, Dulwich Picture Gallery, 2006-7, p.173, under no. 59