- 120
Giacomo Guardi
Estimate
14,000 - 18,000 USD
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Description
- Giacomo Guardi
- The Ascent of a balloon from the Giudecca Canal
- Pen and brown and black ink and black and gray wash over traces of black chalk, within brown ink framing lines;
bears attribution in pen and brown ink, verso: Guardi - 7 x 9 3/8 inches
Condition
Window mounted. Overall in very good condition. There are two brown stains, one at the center right margin and one located just above the hot air balloon. The medium remains very fresh. Sold in a modern wooden and gilded 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.
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.
Catalogue Note
This drawing depicts an important event, the first ascent of a hot air balloon in Venice. The balloon was constructed for the lawyer, Francesco Pesaro, and was manned by Count Giovanni Zambeccari who made the ascent on 15 April 1784. The previous year had seen the Mongolfier brothers taking to the skies in the first ever manned flight of a hydrogen balloon, in June 1783, at Annonay in France. This extraordinary spectacle and engineering feat must have inspired Francesco Pesaro to commission his own balloon.
Giacomo's drawing, taken from the viewpoint of the Punta della Dogana, shows the balloon in flight, framed between the columns of a portico with spectators gathered on the pavement to watch the historic event unfold. Below the balloon, gondolas line the canal and on the horizon are the churches of the Redentore and Le Zitelle. This momentous occasion is immortalized in Francesco Guardi's famous painting, La Mongolfiera, now in Berlin1 and also in his preparatory drawing for the composition, formerly in the collection of Dr. M Altmann.2
As there are a number of differences between Giacomo's study and his father's, one could speculate that Giacomo, who would have been twenty years old in 1784, also witnessed the event and made his own sketch of the ascent.
1. Berlin, Staatliche Museum, inv. 501F; A. Morassi, Guardi, I dipinti, Venice 1993, vol.I, p. 369, no. 310, reproduced vol. II, fig. 336
2. A. Morassi, Guardi, Tutti Disegni..., Venice 1975, no. 312, reproduced
Giacomo's drawing, taken from the viewpoint of the Punta della Dogana, shows the balloon in flight, framed between the columns of a portico with spectators gathered on the pavement to watch the historic event unfold. Below the balloon, gondolas line the canal and on the horizon are the churches of the Redentore and Le Zitelle. This momentous occasion is immortalized in Francesco Guardi's famous painting, La Mongolfiera, now in Berlin1 and also in his preparatory drawing for the composition, formerly in the collection of Dr. M Altmann.2
As there are a number of differences between Giacomo's study and his father's, one could speculate that Giacomo, who would have been twenty years old in 1784, also witnessed the event and made his own sketch of the ascent.
1. Berlin, Staatliche Museum, inv. 501F; A. Morassi, Guardi, I dipinti, Venice 1993, vol.I, p. 369, no. 310, reproduced vol. II, fig. 336
2. A. Morassi, Guardi, Tutti Disegni..., Venice 1975, no. 312, reproduced