Michele Marieschi

Mrs. F. Prior, Hinton Horndean, Hampshire;
Her sale, London, Christie's, 23 July 1887, lot 105, for 5 gns. to Martin Colnaghi;
Lady Falle;
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 21 April 1989, lot 100;
With Richard Green, London;
From whom acquired by the present owner.

R. Toledano, Michele Marieschi. Catalogo ragionato, Milan 1995, p. 62, cat. no. V.6, reproduced in colour and a detail on p. 63; 
F. Montecuccoli degli Erri & F. Pedrocco, Michele Marieschi. La vita, l'ambiente, l'opera, Milan 1999, p. 307, cat. no. 85, reproduced in colour.

The following condition report is provided by Sarah Walden who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting has had a recent restoration with new lining and stretcher. The foreground and architecture have remained beautifully intact and in very good condition virtually throughout, with every detail finely preserved. It is only along the skyline that the delicate definitions of the roofs, balconies or chimneys, the silhouettes of the domes or the masts and rigging and the lion on his column have been worn, and had little strengthening retouches. Elsewhere there has been scarcely any retouching at all, and the rich darks and vibrant colour remains unworn and intact. The sky has been more radically and extensively cleaned. It is quite thin especially near the top and on the left side needing many little retouchings. This report was not done under laboratory conditions.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Unknown to Ralph Toledano at the time of writing his first monograph on the artist in 1988, this painting was later included in his 1995 catalogue raisonné. Unusually for Marieschi, the view is not repeated in any other work by the artist, whether in painted or engraved form, and this makes it truly unique in Marieschi's oeuvre. Furthermore, upon close inspection, pentiments can be seen in the right foreground indicating that the artist altered the position of the awnings at least twice. The Molo is seen from this same angle, though from much further back, in Marieschi's engraving in the Museo Correr, Venice, and in the six painted variants which derive from it.¹  The view is taken from the water on the Bacino di San Marco and looks towards the Molo. The entrance to the Grand Canal is to the left, with the Punta della Dogana and the church of Santa Maria della Salute visible in the far left distance, whilst the Piazzetta lies on the right, with the south-west corner of the Palazzo Ducale just visible along the right margin of the composition.

Toledano dates this painting to circa 1737 on stylistic grounds; a dating with which Montecuccoli degli Erri and Pedrocco also agree. They compare it to Marieschi's View of the Rialto bridge at Claydon House in Buckinghamshire, one of the few signed (and probably documented) works by the artist, and the Courtyard of the Palazzo Ducale at Hatchlands, East Clandon, also likely to be identifiable with a documented work of 1736.²  Marieschi is listed in the Fraglia dei Pittori (or painter's guild) in Venice from 1735 to 1741 and this painting was certainly executed during this time. Although perhaps not as famous as his rival vedutisti Canaletto and Francesco Guardi, Marieschi had a short but extremely successful career as a view-painter. He died prematurely at the age of just thirty-three but counted, amongst others, Marshal Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg among his patrons.

The figures, which Montecuccoli degli Erri and Pedrocco note are reminiscent of Gaspare Diziani, are almost certainly by Marieschi himself in this instance.

1.  See R. Toledano, under Literature, pp. 58-61, cat. nos. V.5.a-f, all reproduced.
2.  Toledano, op. cit., p. 75, cat. no. V.14, and p. 56, cat. no. V.4.a respectively, both reproduced.