Anonymous sale, Munich, Hampel, 26 June 2014, lot 230.
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 work has been restored. The canvas does not appear to be lined, but the tacking edges have been reinforced. This is a very rough piece of canvas painted with a rapid technique. The architecture and the canal seem to be in good condition. However, some of the darker lines in the windows and gondolas have received retouching and strengthening. Some areas of the canal have also received restoration. In the sky, in addition to tiny dots of retouching throughout, there is a 12 inch long horizontal line of restoration in the upper center of the sky and a diagonal scratch above the dome on the left side.
"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 unrecorded view of the Grand Canal is an important early work by Guardi that appears to pre-date his earliest dated
veduta of 1758.
1 Stylistically it is very close to other paintings by the artist that have been dated to
circa 1745-1750.
2 At left is the Fondamenta di San Simeone and Giovanni Antonio Scalfarotto’s domed church of San Simeone Piccolo. At right in the foreground can be seen the Baroque façade of Santa Maria di Nazareth, also called Chiesa degli Scalzi, with the façade of Santa Lucia at right in the background. Santa Lucia and all the adjacent buildings up to the Scalzi were destroyed in 1860 to make way for the “Santa Lucia” railway station.
This atmospheric painting, already demonstrating Guardi’s famously fast and fluid brush stroke technique, appears to be his first version of this subject. Later in his career, circa 1770-1780, Guardi painted similar views on several occasions, though from a somewhat different vantage point and excluding gli Scalzi.3
We are grateful to Charles Beddington for endorsing the attribution after first-hand inspection. This lot is accompanied by a photo-copy of a certificate from Egidio Martini endorsing the attribution to Guardi and dating it to circa 1745.
1. Francesco Guardi, Festa del Giovedi Grasso in Piazetta, signed and dated 1758, sold London, Sotheby's, 14 December 2000, lot 91.
2. See A. Morassi, Guardi, Antonio e Francesco Guardi, Venice 1973, vol. I, pp. 381-382, cat. nos. 379 and 384.
3. Ibid., vol. I, pp. 418-419, cat. nos. 578-583; another unrecorded version was sold in these Rooms on 26 January 2017, lot 294.
