Thomas Patch

Tixall collection;

Lieutenant Colonel Walter Raleigh Chichester Constable (1863-1942), Burton Constable Hall, near Hull;

By whom sold ("Property of Lieut.-Colonel Raleigh Chichester-Constable, D.L., and have been removed from Burton Constable, Yorks, the residence of the Constable Family since the 12th Century"), London, Christie's, 8 July 1927, lot 32 (as Canaletto);

Where acquired by Pawsey & Payne, London, for 354 gns.;

From whom acquired by Captain C.A. Cartwright;

Thence by descent to his son, W. Aubrey Cartwright, New York;

By whom anonymously sold, New York, Parke Bernet, 6 December 1973, lot 54 (as William Marlow);

Where acquired by Colnaghi, London, and until at least 1976;

Thereafter acquired by a private collector, Florence;

Thence by descent.

F.J.B. Watson, "Thomas Patch (1725-1782): Notes on his Life, Together with a Catalogue of his Known Works," in Volume of the Walpole Society 28 (1939-1940), p. 38, cat. no. 19;

M. Gregori and S. Blasio, Firenze nella pittura e nel disegno dal Trecento al Settecento, Milan 1994, pp. 231, 265 note 56, reproduced fig. 295.

The English-born caricaturist, printmaker, and painter Thomas Patch captured this luminous view of Florence’s Ponte Santa Trinità in October 1767. Based on an engraving by Giuseppe Zocchi, this scene was one Patch returned to more frequently than any other. Alongside the celebrated bridge—regarded as the first elliptical arch bridge of its kind (and destroyed during the Second World War)—Patch depicts the Lungarno Corsini on the left. Beyond it, Filippo Brunelleschi's iconic dome of the city's Duomo and the clocktower of the Palazzo Vecchio rise above the cityscape. On the right, the Palazzo Guicciardini anchors the composition.

Having moved to Florence at the age of thirty, Patch found his calling painting views of the city's most famous landmarks, catering largely to Grand Tourists. His compositions not only capture Florence’s celebrated architecture but also the vibrant activity along the Arno: gondolas and various boats animate the placid waters and as people stroll along the river's embankments. Suffused with clear, crisp light, the painting strikes a careful balance between topographical precision and atmospheric evocation.