Francesco Guardi

Henry Oppenheimer;
his sale, London, Christie's, 10 July 1936, lot 90a;
"Bittner" (according to Gainesville, et al.);
Janos Scholz, New York;
E.V. Thaw, New York, by 1960;
with Yvonne Ffrench, London, 1968;
Jacques Petit-Hory, Paris (bears his collector's mark not in Lugt);
acquired in 1989

London, Burlington Fine Arts Club, Venetian Painting of the Eighteenth Century, 1911, no. 80;
London, Yvonne Ffrench, Old Master Drawings, 1968, no. 25, reproduced;
Paris, Orangerie, Venise au XVIII siècle, 1971, no. 109;
Gainesville, et al., 1991-93, no. 34, reproduced

Detlev, Baron von Hadeln, 'Some unpublished figure drawings of Francesco Guardi', Old Master Drawings, no. 1, June 1926, p. 3;
R. Pallucchini, I Disegni del Guardi al Museo Correr di Venezia, Venice 1943, p. 41, under no. 34;
Oakland, Mills College Art Gallery et al., Venetian Drawings 1600-1800, from the Collection of Janos Scholz, 1960, under no. 36;
Janos Scholz , 'Visiting Venetian Drawings at the National Gallery',  The Art Quarterly, vol. XXVII, no. 2, 1964, p. 192, fig. 4; 
Antonio Morassi, Guardi, I Disegni, Venice 1975 (and reprint 1993), cat. no. 257, fig. 260

Laid down around edges but verso visible. Condition seems fine - ink is a bit blurred. Blue of paper is soft
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This drawing was one of a pair of similar works in the Oppenheimer collection. The other was also subsequently in the collection of Janos Scholz, before passing to the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York; drawn on gray rather than blue paper, it shows the female figure facing right and wrestling more closely with the lion's mouth. Von Hadeln (loc. cit.) suggested that these studies might have been based on a Carnival event, and intended to decorate a piece of painted furniture. Morassi considers both drawings to be late works and does not propose any solution to the mystery of their subject, but writes about the other version: 'Una insolita domatrice che dà prova di coraggio pur essendo tutta agghindata (con quel po' po' di cappellino!)'.¹

Mr. Horvitz recalls seeing a larger Guardi drawing of the same subject in a private collection in Paris.  It was pricked for transfer, and bore an inscription stating that the image depicted was Catherine the Great struggling with the lion of Venice. Morassi does not record that drawing. Although it is an engaging idea as an explanation of the subject, there seems to be no convincing historical reason for it. Catherine the Great's son and his wife, Archduke Paul Pavlovitch and Archduchess Maria Feodorovna, came to Venice disguised as the 'Conti del Nord' in January 1782 and Guardi painted several records of the festivities held in their honor, but this seems to be the only Russian connection in Guardi's work.

1.  Morassi, op. cit., cat. no. 258, fig. 259