Follower of Giovanni Antonio Canal, called Canaletto

New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana;
Anonymous sale, New York, Sotheby's, 2 June 1989, lot 72 when acquired by the late owner for $100,000.

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The canvas is lined and the paint layer is stable and flat with well preserved texture and impasto. There are obvious dark discoloured restorations in the sky along with pale restorations and the milkiness of a bloomed varnish to the Campanile and the side of the Ducal Palace. Apart from minor abrasions to some of the darker passages the painting is in good original condition. The removal of the varnish would improve the overall tonality."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The composition is based upon that of the original by Canaletto formerly in the collection of Sir Robert Walpole and Gideon Sampson and now in a private collection.¹ The picture commemorates the annual Sposalizio del Mar or wedding with the sea, a ceremony performed on Ascension Day in honour of Venice's maritime supremacy in which the Doge would cast a wedding ring into the open waters of the lagoon. By the 18th century the ceremony was performed with considerable pageantry, suitable for visiting Grand Tourists and other visitors. The Bucintoro or Doge's barge is that designed by Stefano Conti from Lucca and decorated by the sculptor Antonio Corradini between 1728-9.

At the time of the 1989 sale this painting was attributed to the English painter William James. According to Ralph Edwards, writiting in 1808, James 'had been an assistant to Canaletti (sic) while he was in England'.² This is probably the same William James who exhibited seven views of different parts of London at the Society of Artists in London between 1761 and 1768. Although he may well have imitated Canaletto, no signed or documented work painted in Canaletto's style nor any view of Venice derived from his designs has yet come to light.

1. W.G. Constable and J.Links, Canaletto, Oxford 1976, vol. I, reproduced plate 64, no. 340, and vol. II, p. 361, no. 340. The painting was sold Paris, Ader Tajan, 15 December 1993, lot 13.
2. Anecdotes of Painting, London 1808, vol. I, p. 27.