FEDERICO DEL CAMPO | The Doge's Palace and the Grand Canal, Venice

Sale: Sotheby's, London, March 19, 1986, lot 42, illustrated 
MacConnal-Mason, London (acquired at the above sale)
Private Collection (acquired in the United States circa 1980)
Thence by descent from the above, her mother 

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This work has an old English wax lining. The architecture, canal and boats are unretouched, except for a few spots on the far left. The sky has received non-original broad light glazes, for some reason that is not apparent. These glazes are more concentrated in the clouds. The condition of the sky beneath these glazes is unclear. If they are removed, slight canvas texture that is due to overcleaning or original to the artist may become apparent. Otherwise, there are a few isolated retouches here and there. The work would benefit if the current restoration were re-examined.
"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 sweeping view epitomizes Federico del Campo’s approach to vedutismo, a popular genre pioneered in the eighteenth century by Francesco Guardi and Canaletto, which gained increasing popularity in the nineteenth century. Painted from the promenade overlooking the lagoon and encompassing the Doge's Palace, the entrance to St. Mark's Square, and the Church of Santa Maria della Salute, the panorama is striking in its technical precision, lively brushwork and luminous palette.  The elegance of the subject and its technique are telling of their times, reflective of sophisticated Belle Époque taste during the 1880s and 1890s, and of the increased demand for souvenir views by a newly mobile bourgeoisie. Indeed, so much were del Campo's views in demand that he painted the present view several times, it becoming his signature composition.

The young del Campo was lured to Italy not only by its picturesqueness but by the hope of launching a successful and lucrative career. In moving to Venice in the late 1880s, he joined an already large community of emigré artists, among them Antoinetta Brandeis and the Spanish colony of painters who included Rafael Senet, Mariano Fortuny, and Martin Rico y Ortega, all of whom found a ready international market for their views of the city. Many, del Campo included, made such big names for themselves through this genre that they painted nothing but Italian views.