1142 - GUARDI, FRANCESCO

GUARDI, FRANCESCO 1712 Venice–1793 Venice Title: A View of the Rialto Bridge in Venice. Date: Around 1785. Technique: Oil on panel. Mounting: Parquet-mounted. Dimensions: 22.5 x 34.5 cm. Frame: Framed. The Rialto Bridge, built of stone in the 16th century and the only pedestrian bridge across the Grand Canal until the 19th century, has been one of Venice’s most popular subjects for paintings ever since its construction and remains so to this day. This small panel painting by Francesco Guardi depicts the prominent structure—whose arcades were fitted with projecting canopies in the 18th century—with the bustling activity of boats and gondolas on the lagoon city’s “main street” in the foreground. Today, Francesco Guardi is best known for his vedute of Venice. Beginning in the 1720s, Giovanni Antonio Canal, known as Canaletto (1697–1768), had made such almost documentary-style cityscapes immensely popular. There is no evidence to suggest that Francesco Guardi was ever a pupil of Canaletto; however, he was able to masterfully explore this subject matter—which the older artist had made so fashionable—in his own, entirely distinct style, particularly after Canaletto left the city in 1747. For this is where Francesco Guardi truly excels, and the veduta before us also demonstrates this characteristic of the artist: unlike Canaletto, whose views astonish with their graphic conception and precision, Francesco Guardi remains, at all times, the Baroque painter who is able to dissolve the line while nevertheless creating a strong sense of three-dimensionality through the use of light and shadow. His highly distinctive brushwork and his figure types—as simple as they are refined—convey a strong sense of immediacy in the scene. It is no surprise that the French Impressionists held Francesco Guardi in the highest regard and that art-historical research has linked his repeated depiction of a motif under varying lighting conditions to the approach of Claude Monet. Francesco Guardi also frequently depicted the Rialto Bridge in this manner. According to Antonio Morassi, this work belongs to his late creative period. Dario Succi, who recently reexamined this painting in detail, dates it more precisely to the late 1780s. It is a pleasure to be able to present this high-quality work from the central thematic circle of the great Baroque painter here. We are grateful to Dario Succi, Treviso, for confirming the attribution of this painting to Francesco Guardi based on a high-resolution digital photograph. Provenance: Since 2025, private collection, Ireland; Christie’s auction, New York, February 5, 2025, lot 166 (attributed to Giacomo Guardi); Christie’s auction, New York, April 17, 2024, lot 153 (attributed to Giacomo Guardi); Since 1991, private collection, New York (attributed to Francesco Guardi); 1978, Sotheby’s auction, London, lot 60 (attributed to Francesco Guardi); 1969, Fineart auction, Milan, lot 31; 1935, J. P. Schmidt Collection, Germany; 1933 Kunsthandel AG, Lucerne, archived under no. 7903; 1929 Julius Bohler, Munich, inventory number 29.112; 1915 Privy Councilor Dr. Julius Weiler, Berlin; 1914 Julius Bohler, Munich, inventory number 14-135; Galerie Trotti et Cie, Paris. Bibliography: G. Morassi: Antonio and Francesco Guardi: Venice 1973, Vol. I, no. 532, p. 409, ill. in Vol. II under no. 517 (as Francesco Guardi); L. R. Bortolatto: L’Opera Completa di Francesco Guardi, Milan 1974, p. 113ff., no. 411 with ill. Estimated shipping costs for this lot: This lot is not suitable for parcel shipping. Transportation only via a shipping company after consultation following the auction. Additional shipping insurance Shipping insurance up to a total invoice amount of 25,000 euros: max. 41.65 euros over a total invoice amount of 25,000 euros: 1.8 per thousand Shipping to the USA by individual arrangement after the auction. #Francesco Guardi #Venetian School #Italy #18th C. #Venice #Painting #Old Masters. This lot will be sold subject to standard taxation (Conditions of Sale §V6.1)