Francesco Guardi

The canvas is relined. There are some scattered retouches in the sky. These appear to have discolored over time and are now visible to the naked eye as the darker blue hues. There are also some slight retouches along the craquelure, though this is mostly limited to the buildings at far left. The lower third of the canvas appears to be mostly untouched by retouching. The painting could potentially benefit from a light cleaning in the sky, to remove the scattered discolored retouches. Overall though, there are no major losses or damages to speak of. In a carved and giltwood frame with some abrasion to the gilding.
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We are grateful to Charles Beddington for confirming the attribution to Francesco Guardi, and for pointing out that the painting is based on part of an engraving by Fabio Berardi (1728-1788), published by Giuseppe Wagner (1706-1786), Capriccio near the Lagoon with a Tower and a Bridge.¹ The print is inscribed 'Anto Canaletto Pinx.' and, although no painting of the composition by Canaletto is known, there does exist a related drawing in the opposite sense,² and a gouache of the subject has recently been rediscovered and attributed to the artist. Succi dates the series of six prints of which this is a component to 1755-1765.³

The painting follows quite closely the center part of the print, which is in a horizontal format, omitting most of the round tower on the left, the bridge on the right and the boats in the foreground. Several paintings deriving from the print, including one by Francesco Tironi, show the impression which the composition made on contemporaries.

1. W.G. Constable, Canaletto, London 1962, vol. I, reproduced plate 152; D. Succi, catalogue of the exhibition Da Carlevarijs ai Tiepolo: Incisori veneti e friulani del Settecento, Palazzo Attems, Gorizia, and Museo Correr, Venice, 1983, p. 76, no. 44, reproduced). 
2. Constable, op. cit., vol. I, plate 152; vol. II, no. 806).
3. op. cit., p. 75, note 2.