Francesco Guardi

D.P. Sellar, 68 Princes Gate, London (according to the Christie's 1993 sale catalogue);

Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 17 March 1888, lot 74 (alongside its pendant depicting the Dogana), for 96 guineas to Colnaghi;

Stephenson Clarke (1824–1891), Borde Hill, Sussex;

Thence by descent to Robert Stephenson Clarke;

By whom posthumously sold ('The Property of the late Robert Clarke, Sold by Order of the Executors'), London, Christie's, 10 December 1993, lot 66, for £177,500;

Private collection, Greece;

Anonymous sale ('Property of a Lady'), London, Christie's, 8 December 2016, lot 34, for £269,000;

Where acquired by the present owner.

Executed during the 1770s, this beautifully preserved panel is a particularly fine example of Francesco Guardi’s mature style. Dominating the composition is the church of Santa Maria della Salute, Baldassare Longhena’s great Baroque landmark at the entrance to the Grand Canal. To the left, the distant line of the Riva degli Schiavoni recedes towards the horizon, opening the picture onto a broad expanse of sky.

The choice of panel as a support is characteristic of a group of small-scale works produced by Guardi during the final decades of his career. Unlike canvas, the smooth wooden surface permitted a greater precision in the rendering of architectural details and figures, while also accommodating the rapid, calligraphic brushwork that distinguishes his late paintings.

This view occupies a relatively unusual place within Guardi’s painted œuvre. Whereas Canaletto repeatedly represented Santa Maria della Salute from similar viewpoints, Guardi appears to have explored the motif only rarely. The closest comparison is the larger canvas in the Art Institute of Chicago, which shares many compositional elements while differing in scale and viewpoint.¹ A related pen-and-wash drawing, formerly in the Broglio collection in Paris, records the right-hand section of the composition.² Published by Antonio Morassi in connection with the Chicago painting, the drawing was later discussed by James Byam Shaw, who suggested that it was executed from the Loggia of the Abbazia di San Gregorio.³

¹ https://www.artic.edu/artworks/111074/the-grand-canal-venice

² A. Morassi, Guardi: I dipinti, Venice 1993, vol. I, p. 397, under no. 464.

³ J.J. Byam-Shaw, The Drawings of Francesco Guardi, London 1951, p. 62, no. 20.