Ippolito Caffi

By direct descent in the family of the artist, to the Avon Caffi collection, Padua

Born in Belluno in 1809, Ippolito Caffi received his training at the Academy in Venice and followed in the footsteps of his Venetian predecessors, Guardi, Canaletto and Bellotto, by becoming one of the most important Vedutisti (View Painters) of the early 19^th Century.

After spending time in Venice, Caffi travelled to Rome where he excelled in the genre of view painting, and where his fame grew.  In 1843 he expanded his visual repertoire by traveling to more exotic locations, including Egypt, Greece and Turkey.  It is most likely that the present view was recorded during these travels, perhaps in smaller sketches that were later developed into this immense pen and ink study.  Annalisa Scarpa Sonino has kindly confirmed the attribution to Caffi on the basis of a digital image, and suggests that the sheet was made in preparation for one of his paintings.  She also points out that it is rare to see such a large drawing by Caffi but that the figures depicted in this sheet can be compared with figures in the sketchbooks by the artist that are housed in the Museo Correr.