David Roberts R.A. 1796-1864

bought from the artist by Thomas Cubitt (£400);
by descent until sold by Roland Cubitt, Christie's London, 7 November 1947, lot 32 as The Doge's Palace, (bt. Vicars);
Anonymous sale, Phillips' London, 16 March 1963, lot 80, as The Grand Canal (bt. Agnew's);
sold by Agnew's to Leggatt's, 1964;
Warrington sale, Christie's London, 28 November 1969, lot 199, as The Bacino di San Marco Venice;
Anonymous sale, Sotheby's London, 18 March 1970, lot 148, as Grand Canal, Venice (bt. Gonzales de Leon)

London, Royal Academy, 1852, no. 34 as Venice

David Roberts's Record Book number 155 as Venice;
Letter from Roberts to David Ramsay Hay, 13 April 1852 (National Library of Scotland);
Art Journal, 1852, p. 166;
Athenaeum, 1852, p. 520;
Illustrated London News, 1852, p. 421;
Literary Gazette, 1852, p. 388;
The Times, 1 May 1852, p. 8;
Letter from Roberts to his son-in-law, Henry Sanford Bicknell, July 1858 (Private Collection);
J. Ballantine, The Life of David Roberts, RA, 1866, p. 174 & no. 173

STRUCTURE The canvas has been lined. PAINT SURFACE The general apearance is very good. There are scattered light frame abrasion marks to the extreme edges of the canvas. There is a very small amount of surface dirt which could easily be cleaned off. A few minor repairs have been carried out to the central upper left and centre right of the canvas which are only visible on close inspection. ULTRAVIOLET Ultraviolet light reveals some scattered light re-touching to the sky, and some re-touching to the area around a canvas join in the upper centre of the canvas. There is a small area of re-touching or possibly varnish on the sales of the sailing boat in the foreground. FRAME Held in an ornate gilt wood frame.
"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."

David Roberts was a great traveller, constantly seeking new material and interesting subjects for the sunlit townscape views that were so popular with collectors and the public. He often went to France and Belgium, spent a year travelling round Spain and a year in the Near East, but only visited Italy twice - once to Venice and once to Rome. His Venice visit was in October 1851, travelling via Switzerland during late September and returning through Vienna.

"I am so puzzled it will take me many days to sober down," Roberts wrote to his daughter two days after he arrived, adding that "great as Canaletti is & much as I have hitherto admired his works, they fall short of the reality...perhaps in brilliancy of effect Turner is more near, but still it is not Venice...here is a combination of architectural beauty - with Statuary - boats - water & effects combined as impress upon the mind at once". Ten days later he wrote to his son-in-law, Henry Sanford Bicknell, that he was "at work from 9 o'clock until 4 or 5 in the afternoon; I find a Gondola the most convenient as well as agreeable, as I can get all my traps around me & free from beggars & idlers with which the town swarms".

He made a number of oil studies on the spot: "I have made two or three of the Doge's Palace from the Water, which, although it has been so often done, yet I think can bear repainting; besides Venice without St Mark's & the Doge's Palace is like London without St Paul's or Edinburgh without the Castle." One of the known oil studies (in a private collection) shows the Doge's Palace from the same viewpoint as the present lot. It is dated October 7^th 1851. Roberts made a large number of oil sketches, pencil drawings and watercolours while in Venice, using them as the basis for many paintings over the next twelve years. He considered that he had been able to "skim the cream off" in the studies he made during his month in Venice.

The present lot was one of the first Venice pictures that Roberts painted after his return to London. "I have sent Three rather large Pictures to the R.A. which took up every hour of daylight until the day they were sent in," Roberts wrote to his old friend David Ramsay Hay in April 1852, with apologies for not having written to him since January. Besides an interior of St Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna, "I have sent one of Venice showing the Ducal Palace & Entrance to The Grand Canal which Canaletto & others have painted so often. I fear for this most of my Pictures as hitherto I have had my own lands & consequently my own subjects." The third Royal Academy picture was a view of Antwerp Cathedral. All three pictures were "the property of one individual, plain Thomas Cubitt, the man who has created & covered Belgravia from Hyde Park to the Thames. It is he & such as he that will possess the best works of modern times," Roberts added.

A view of the Doge's Palace from a viewpoint opposite the canal frontage was shown by Roberts at the Royal Academy the following year, 1853, and bought from the artist by Lord Londesborough. This picture was based on another oil study made by Roberts on the spot in Venice (Private Collection). Other Venice canal views painted by Roberts are now in public collections and include The Church of the Jesuits, View on the Grand Canal, Venice, 1854 (New Haven, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection) and a number of pictures featuring Santa Maria della Salute (such as The Dogana and Santa Maria, Venice, 1862, Sheffield City Art Galleries). Roberts also painted several pictures of St Mark's Square and many church exteriors and interiors.

Roberts liked the architecture of Venice, "no sham, no Regent's St. lath & plaster, but substantial Vast gorgeous palaces, combining all the beauties of the greatest architects the world has seen." He added that "Venice in my opinion cannot be painted, it must be seen & to be seen you must stay & live for a time." But he found he could not stay there long, as with "the Stench arising from the Canals...you can scarce breathe" and 'the consequence is that most people leave it after the 1^st week".

We are grateful to Krystyna Matyjaszkiewicz for this catalogue entry.