Lot 295
  • 295

ATTRIBUTED TO FRANCESCO GUARDI | Venice, a view of the Grand Canal with San Simeone Piccolo

Estimate
70,000 - 100,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Francesco Guardi
  • Venice, a view of the Grand Canal with San Simeone Piccolo
  • oil on canvas
  • 26 by 29 in.; 66 by 73.7 cm. 

Condition

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 has been restored. The canvas has a very old lining on the reverse, which still supports the painting well. There is a 1 inch horizontal tear in the center of the sky with a few associated losses, which is unrestored. Under ultraviolet light, one can see fairly numerous retouches in the left side of the sky, and considerably fewer on the right side. There is a fair amount of retouching within the dome of the church on the left, as well as on the bottom edge beneath the gondolas. The red ground color has become slightly more visible over time, but the condition is respectable in general.
"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."

Catalogue Note

This unrecorded view of the Grand Canal is almost certainly a very early work by Guardi which, on the basis of style, must pre-date his earliest dated veduta of 1758. There are very close parallels with the painting of the same view by Guardi sold in these Rooms on 8 June 2017, lot 82, for $150,000, as well as other paintings by the artist that have been dated to circa 1745-1750.2  At left is the Fondamenta di San Simeone and Giovanni Antonio Scalfarotto’s domed church of San Simeone Piccolo.  At right in the foreground can be seen the Baroque façade of Santa Maria di Nazareth, also called Chiesa degli Scalzi, with the façade of Santa Lucia at right in the background. Santa Lucia and all the adjacent buildings up to the Scalzi were destroyed in 1860 to make way for the “Santa Lucia” railway station. The energetic brushstrokes and use of ground layer, particularly in the sky, are entirely characteristic of Guardi's early style, as is the relatively broad range of colors used, particularly for the figures. Later in his career, circa 1770-1780, Guardi painted similar views on several occasions, though from a somewhat different vantage point and excluding Gli Scalzi.3

1.  Francesco Guardi, Festa del Giovedi Grasso in Piazetta, signed and dated 1758, sold London, Sotheby's, 14 December 2000, lot 91.
2.  See A. Morassi, Guardi, Antonio e Francesco Guardi, Venice 1973, vol. I, pp. 381-382, cat. nos. 379 and 384.
3. Ibid., vol. I, pp. 418-419, cat. nos. 578-583; another unrecorded version was sold in these Rooms on 26 January 2017, lot 294.