- 222
Carlo Bonavia
Estimate
50,000 - 70,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Carlo Bonavia
- Sunrise over a harbour with fishermen preparing to embark; Sunset over a harbour with fishermen returning to shore and pulling in their nets
- a pair, the first bears signature and date lower right: J Vernet / A 1757, the second bears signature and date lower right: C J Vernet / P A 1756
- both oil on canvas
Provenance
Lord Huntingfield, Heveningham Hall, Suffolk;
His deceased sale, London, Christie's, 25 June 1915, lot 124 (as 'Sunset and Sunrise by H. Vernet') for 105 gns. to Matthews;
With Duits, Ltd., London, 1933;
Anonymous sale ("Property of a Private Collector"), New York, Christie's, 8 June 2011, lot 89, where acquired by the present owner.
His deceased sale, London, Christie's, 25 June 1915, lot 124 (as 'Sunset and Sunrise by H. Vernet') for 105 gns. to Matthews;
With Duits, Ltd., London, 1933;
Anonymous sale ("Property of a Private Collector"), New York, Christie's, 8 June 2011, lot 89, where acquired by the present owner.
Condition
The colours of both paintings are much warmer and yellower in tone than the catalogue illustrations suggest. Both canvases have recent wax relinings and have been cleaned and restored. Both are in very good overall condition. Restoration on both is confined to local retouchings or strengthenings of shadows and outlines, for example to the fishing boat and foreground rocks in the painting on the left, and to the boats and rocks to that on the right. The restoration is well carried out and is invisible to the naked eye and neither painting should require any further attention.The varnish is clear and even.
Both pictures are offered in matching giltwood frames with bead and ribbon twist mouldings, in good condition with some minor chips and losses.
"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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
Carlo Bonavia was a Neapolitan follower of Claude-Joseph Vernet and active in Naples from circa 1751 to 1788. Although based in Rome, Vernet himself worked intermittently in Naples between 1736 and 1746 influencing a wide circle of artists such as Lacroix de Marseilles and Pierre-Jacques Volaire. As a close contemporary and sometime copyist in his early career, Bonavia’s work is often confused with that of Vernet, however, he went on to develop his own distinct style of painting achieving renown as an artist of great merit in his own lifetime. It would appear that these pictures have always hung as a pair but only the second is illustrated as being with Duits in 1933 according to an old Witt library mount.