Apollonio Domenichini (formerly known as the Master of the Langmatt Foundation Views)

Madame de la Bastiers, 5 Rue [sic] Edmond Valentin, Paris (according to a label on the stretcher);
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 6 July 2004, lot 253 (as 'Attributed to Francesco Tironi').

The catalogue illustration is far too pink/purple in tone; the painting is much cooler and green/blue in tonality. The canvas has an old relining and is mounted onto an old stretcher. The paint surface is slightly dirty and the varnish discoloured. Though the picture is perfectly legible in its current state, it will benefit from a light clean. The picture surface is in fantastic condition and appears intact under ultra-violet light. The only restoration consists of some retouchings in the uppermost right corner. The elaborate gilt (and gold-painted) wood and plaster frame has some chips and damages, especially to the elaborate mouldings and decoration in the corners.
"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."

Apollonio Domenichini was formerly known as the Master of the Langmatt Foundation Views after the artist's eponymous works - a view of seven views of Venice in the Langmatt Foundation, Zurich - and was convincingly identified as Domenichini by Giuseppe Maria Pilo. A large corpus of works by the master have been grouped together, many of which were formerly attributed to Tironi (as here). Although this particular point of the Grand Canal was treated by the artist on a number of occasions, the view is normally taken from the other side, as in numerous examples formerly on the art market.¹  This particular composition corresponds closely, even in the pattern of the clouds in the sky though with different staffage and boats, to a painting in the Glasgow Art Gallery and Museum which is classified as 'School of Canaletto' and thought to record a lost original.² The same view was also painted by Francesco Guardi, in one of a pair today in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Madrid.³

The church of Santa Lucia, at the extreme left of the composition, has since been demolished and replaced with the railway station of Santa Lucia. Further down the bank of the Grand Canal the church and convent of the Scalzi (officially called Santa Maria di Nazareth) has survived intact, including Giuseppe Sardi's impressive façade.

1. See, for example, the painting sold London, Christie's, 17 April 2002, lot 118, or the one belonging to a pair sold, London, Christie's, 31 October 1997, lot 103.
2. W.G. Constable, Canaletto. Giovanni Antonio Canal 1697-1768, ed. J.G. Links, Oxford 1989, vol. II, p. 321, cat. no. 265, reproduced vol. I, plate 53, fig. 265.
3. R. Contini, The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection. Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Painting, London 2002, pp. 290-293, cat. no. 61, reproduced in colour.