Francesco Guardi

Konsul Eduard Friedrich Weber (1830–1907), Hamburg, by 1882;

By whose estate sold (‘Galerie Weber, Hamburg’), Berlin, Rudolph Lepke, 20–22 February 1912, 3rd day of sale, lot 165, for 5,100 Marks;

Where acquired by Schwarz for the Hamburger Kunsthalle;

By whom sold to Karl Haberstock (1878–1956), Berlin, in 1925, for RM 500;

From whom acquired by Dr. Fritz Rothmann (1893–1983), Berlin; 

Anonymous sale, Milan, Relarte, 11 April 1964, lot 61;

With Galerie Fischer, Lucerne, by 1973;

Anonymous sale, Paris, Salle Rossini, 2 April 2019, lot 66;

Where acquired by the present owner.

J. von Pflugk-Hartung, 'Berichte und Mittheilungen aus Sammlungen und Museen, über staatliche Kunstpflege und Restaurationen, neue Funde. Hamburg. Die Weber'sche Gemäldesammlung', in Separatabdruck aus dem Repertorium, 1885, vol. VIII, p. 86; 

F. von Harck, ‘Quadri di maestri italiani nelle gallerie private di Germania, III. La Galleria Weber di Amburgo’, in Archivio storico dell'arte, 1891, IV, part II, pp. XIII and 89 (described as 'di speciale finezza');

K. Woermann, Wissenschaftliches Verzeichnis der älteren Gemälde der Galerie Weber in Hamburg, Dresden 1892, pp. 120–21, no. 165, Weber gallery inventory no. 569;

K. Woermann, Wissenschaftliches Verzeichnis der älteren Gemälde der Galerie Weber in Hamburg, rev. and enlarged ed., Dresden 1907, pp. 146–47, no. 165;

E. Schaeffer, ‘La vendita della collezione Weber a Berlino’, in Rassegna d'arte, April/May 1912, p. 75;

Dipinti di Due Secoli (600 e 700), exh. cat., Milan 1963, pp. 20–21, reproduced in colour pl. 7 (incorrectly described as on canvas);

A. Morassi, Francesco Guardi. I dipinti, Venice 1973, vol. I, p. 443, no. 712, reproduced vol. II, fig. 670 (incorrectly described as on canvas);

L. Rossi Bortolatto, L'opera completa di Francesco Guardi, Milan 1974, pp. 117–19, no. 488, reproduced;

A. Morassi, Guardi. I dipinti, Venice 1993, p. 443, no. 712, reproduced vol. II, fig. 670 (incorrectly described as on canvas);

C. Schmincke, Sammler in Hamburg. Der Kaufmann und Kunstfreund Konsul Eduard Friedrich Weber (1830–1907), PhD. Diss., Hamburg 2004, pp. 192, 269, 280 and 386.

Milano, Circolo della Stampa, Palazzo Serbelloni, Dipinti di Due Secoli (600 e 700), 16 November – 1 December 1963.

While Francesco Guardi is more famous today for his vedute paintings of Venice, he also completed a number of capriccio paintings such as this small-scale panel. These works of idyllic, imaginary landscapes often feature roman ruins and classical architecture, with figures scattered throughout to provide a sense of scale. Guardi's virtuoso brushwork captures the shimmering light of the landscape in a fantastical manner, infusing the work with an impression of movement and dynamism that one would not typically encounter in a small architectural study.