Carlo Bonavia

Private Collection, France;
Anonymous sale, Paris, Pierre Bergé & Assoc., 23 July 2006, lot 56;
With Colnaghi, London;
From whom acquired by the present owner.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work is in remarkable condition. The canvas is unlined. The canvas seems to have been treated with an adhesive, and the stretcher is not old. The surface of the work is very attractive. It is slightly evenly cracked throughout, but the paint layer does not seem to be unstable. No retouches are visible under ultraviolet light or to the naked eye.
"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."

While many of Bonavia's paintings depicted sunrises or sunsets over a calm harbor (see lot 63), the elusive artist was also renowned for his dramatic images of coastal storms.  In the present picture, the sea furiously lashes at a rocky coast as torrential rain clouds move in from afar; fishermen scramble along the shore in the foreground, adding to the spectacle. Bonavia's remarkable use of a restrained, cool color palette enhances the ferociousness of the scene he depicts.