Francesco Guardi

Probably acquired in Venice by John Strange (1732-1799), between 1773 and 1788 (his wax seal on the verso);

Probably acquired by Abdy in Paris (according to a label on the verso);

With Thomas Agnew & Sons, London;

Mabel G. Deakin (1892-1977);

By whose descendants sold ("Property of the Descendants of Mabel G. Deakin (1892-1977)"), London, Sotheby's, 6 July 2016, lot 34;

Where acquired by a private collector;

By whom anonymously sold, New York, Sotheby's, 30 January 2019, lot 76;

Where acquired by the present collector.

A. Morassi, Guardi, Antonio e Francesco, Milan 1973, vol. I, p. 436, cat. no. 676; vol. II, reproduced fig. 634;

A. Morassi, Guardi i dipinti, Milan 1993, vol. I, pp. 254, 436, cat. no. 676; vol. II, reproduced fig. 634.

Guardi depicted this view of Dolo on at least six occasions, underscoring the composition's importance to the artist and its popularity among his clients. This version, the largest among them, is especially animated and colorful. Guardi populates the composition with rapidly-executed figures and adds accents of red, yellow, and blue to the staffage, while also dramatizing the play of light and shadow.

A narrow arched bridge spans the Brenta canal as it runs through Dolo, a small town in the Veneto that marked the last stop on the terra firma before entering Venice from the north. The identification of the scene derives from a pen-and-ink study for the composition (Venice, Museo Correr) inscribed by Guardi: "veduta della Porta del Dolo per andar a Padova." Guardi's two horizontal treatments of the view (one in a private collection, London, the other formerly in the collection of E. Assheton-Bennett) correspond almost exactly with the drawing. The four vertical compositions, which differ in details and tone, are in the Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon; the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; formerly the collection of Baron Henri de Rothschild, Paris; and the present work.