Francesco Guardi

H.M. Clark, London, 1924;
Sale, Paris, Charpentier, May 22, 1933, lot 79;
Sale Paris, Charpentier, June 24, 1937, lot 27;
Madame Lebel, Paris;
Fernand Adda;
His anonymous sale ("Collection d'une Grand Amateur"), Paris, Palais Galliera, November 29, 1965, lot 108;
Private collection, France;
Anonymous sale, Paris, Palais Galliera, June 24, 1968, lot 29;
Private collection, France;
Anonymous sale, Cannes, Appay-Gairoard-Besch, December 22, 1998, lot 1, sold for FF2,670,000 hammer price ($475,794).

Weltkunst, May 1, 1968, reproduced p. 372;
A. Morassi, Guardi, I dipinti, Venice 1973, Vol. I, P. 375, cat. no. 340.
A. Morassi, Guardi, I dipinti, Venice 1984, Vol. I, p. 375, cat. no. 340.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This picture has recently been lined, cleaned and retouched. If the varnish were to be reexamined, the picture could be hung as is. The varnish makes ultraviolet light inspection difficult however to the naked eye restoration is evident and one may speculate with some accuracy that thinness and a natural diminishment of the paint layer in the sky has given rise to some retouching. It is most likely that some of the clarity has gone out of the foreground, the figures and the buildings which have also required retouching. The restoration has been extremely focused and while the picture is not in particularly good condition, the work done here goes a long way to helping the image.
"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."

This painting is a mature work by the artist, painted circa 1775-80, and described by Morassi (see Literature) as an "opera di buona qualità."  It depicts the Piazza San Marco looking towards the Basilica and great Campanile and was one of Guardi's most popular compositions.  To fill the great demand for this quintessential Venetian view from the Grand Tourists of the 18^th century, Guardi returned to it on numerous occasions varying slightly the viewpoint, the different groupings of figures and the light.  Morassi lists no fewer than twenty-eight variants of the Piazza San Marco looking east.  In this version, he depicted the piazza on a brilliant, sunny day with strong light coming from the left, casting the Procuratie Vecchie and left side of the piazza in dramatic shadow.  Typical of Guardi's late style is the careful use of black to delineate the architectural details such as can be seen on the Procuratie Nuove at right.  A similar version to the present painting, also a late work, with some of the same figural groupings and shadow at left, was sold in Paris in 1991.¹

This painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the work of Francesco Guardi being prepared by Dr. Dario Succi.

 

1.  View of the Piazza San Marco, oil on canvas, 71 by 95.5 cm., sold, Paris, Ader, Picard, Tajan, April 9, 1991, lot 45, sold for for FF 3,700,000 ($652,097).