MAÎTRE DE LA FONDATION LANGMATT | Two views of Venice:The Piazza San Marco with the Basilica ;The Rialto Bridge from the North with the Fondaco dei Tedeschi on the left and and the Palazzo dei Camerlenghi on the right

Collection Roger G. Gompel, Paris ;
Thence by descent to the current owner.

Par rapport à l’illustration du catalogue, la peinture montre en réalité plus de profondeur. A l’œil nu : Les deux tableaux ont fait l’objet d’un rentoilage et sont couverts d’un beau et dense réseau de craquelures. La couche de vernis est un peu encrassée et décolorée et les deux tableaux mériteraient une nouvelle couche de vernis et un nettoyage léger. Tous deux ne montrent pas d’altération majeure et présentent des jolies guirlandes de tension près des bords. Les impastos des couches picturales semblent avoir été bien préservés. A la lampe U.V. : Le premier : On remarque dans la zone du ciel une retouche substantielle sur la gauche, dans le ciel également et quelques-unes, petites, dans l’architecture à droite. Le second : Le tableau apparaît sous un vernis vert épais. On remarque une importante restauration au-dessus du bâtiment à droite, de même qu’une autre horizontale, au-dessus des bâtiments à droite, masque une craquelure. On remarque des petites restaurations éparses près des bords, dans la zone du ciel et dans l’eau. Autrement, les détails architecturaux et les personnages semblent avoir été bien préservés dans les deux tableaux. Vendus avec de jolis cadres en bois doré sculptés (bon état). The actual paintings show more depth than the catalogue illustrations would suggest. Under the naked eye: Both canvases have been relined and are covered with a fine, dense craquelure pattern. The varnish layers are just a little bit dirty and discoloured and would benefit from a light clean and new varnish layer. Both show no apparent large damages and have nice cusping around the edges. Impasto of the paint layers seems to be well preserved. Inspection underneath U.V. light: The first one: In the sky area a larger retouching on the left, in the sky area and some tiny ones in the architecture, and along the upper edge, left edge and in the architecture on the right. The second one: The varnish layer fluoresces largely and shows a larger area of retouching above the building on the right, as well as a retouched horizontal craquelure above the buildings on the right. Minor retouching around the edges and in the sky area and in the water. Otherwise the architectural details and figures seem to be all nicely preserved in both pictures. Offered with nice carved and giltwood frames, in good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

We are grateful to Mr. Charles Beddington for endorsing the attribution based in photographs.

This luminous pair of paintings masterfully portrays two of the most iconic views of the city of the Doges, the Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge on the Grand Canal. The painter, the Master of the Langmatt Foundation, is named after a group of thirteen Venetian views belonging to the eponymous foundation in Baden, Switzerland. On the basis of correspondence between a Venetian art dealer, Giovanni Maria Sasso, and Sir John Strange, Dario Succi has proposed an identification of the artist with a certain Apollonio Facchinetti, called Domenichini, active in Venice, where he joined the Fraglia in 1757. It is possible that he was the student of Luca Carlevarijs, Michele Marieschi or perhaps of Francesco Albotto. If Succi's attractive theory is not currently unanimously accepted, albeit convincing, it is in any case clear that this coherent ensemble combines the strong influence of such leading veduta painters as Canaletto, Francesco Guardi or, again, Michele Marieschi, with undeniably original aesthetic qualities.

Visibly very popular within the corpus of the Master of the Langmatt Foundation, these two compositions were known through other autograph versions (see for example, for the View of the Piazza San Marco, anonymous sale, Sotheby's London, 4 December 2014, lot 234, sold for £206,500; for the View of the Grand Canal toward the Rialto, anonymous sale, Sotheby's Paris, 5 November 2014, lot 141, sold for €115,500). Note regarding the provenance:
Roger G. Gompel was a renowned collector of Impressionist Art in France at the beginning of the twentieth century. He was the director of the Paris-France Society, the company that owned several department stores including Les Trois Quartiers and Aux Dames de France. Several major artworks from his collection are now located in some of the most prestigious museums such as The Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago.

[1] D. Succi, « Apollonio Domenichini: il Maestro della Fondazione Langmatt », Da Canaletto a Zuccarelli, cat. exh., Udine, 2003, pp. 103-107.