Claude-Louis Châtelet

Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 28 April 2006, lot 69 (as Michael Wutky).

The painting is cooler in tone and less purple than the catalogue illustration suggests. The paper has been laid on to canvas and appears to the naked eye to be clean and in good condition. Some minor cracks in the paint surface are visible, for example in the sky. There is a small patch of abrasion lower right. Inspection under UV light reveals some strengthening in the aforementioned cracks and some minor scattered retouchings but confirms the overall good condition of the work. Offered in a wooden frame in good condition.
"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."

The famous Marmore Falls, near Terni, some forty miles north of Rome, at 650 feet are one of the highest in Europe. The cascade is formed where the waters of the Velino River fall in three stages to join those of the Nera and is celebrated in Virgil's Aeneid and Byron's Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812). Not surprisingly, in the eighteenth century it was one of the most popular destinations in Latium and Umbria for tourists and artists alike. It was also painted by Orizzonte,¹ by Thomas Patch in the 1750s², by Jacob Philipp Hackert in 1779,³ and Carlo Labruzzi, also in 1779.⁴ A very close version, also on paper and of almost identical size, was sold at Sotheby's, London, 9 July 1998, lot 86.

1. See A. Busiri Vici, Jan Frans Van Bloemen, Orizzonte, e l'origine del paesaggio romano settecentesco, Rome, 1973, no. 261, and the painting sold New York, Sotheby's, 25 January 2008, lot 412.
2. Cardiff, National Museums and Galleries of Wales; exhibited Milan, Palazzo Reale, Il Neoclassicismo in Italia: Da Tiepolo a Canova, 2 March – 28 July 2002, p. 422, no. II.8, reproduced in colour p. 66.
3. C. Nordhoff and H. Reimer, Jakob Philipp Hackert 1737-1807: Verzeichnis seiner Werke, Berlin, 1994, I, reproduced in colour pl. 16; II, pp. 54-5, no. 131; C. de Seta and C. Nordhoff, Hackert, Naples, 2005, p. 141, no. 30, reproduced.
4. Carcassonne, Musée; La pittura di paesaggio in Italia: Il Settecento, ed. A. Ottani Cavina and E. Calbi, Milan, 2005, reproduced in colour p. 238.