Noteable Sales Achieved
Giovanni Antonio Canal, called Canaletto
1697-Venice-1768
Bacino di San Marco: Looking East
Canvas: 23 x 36 1/2 ins
58.4 x 92.7 cm
Provenance:
The Duke of Bolton and by descent until 1855
Major A. F. Clarke-Jervoise, Idsworth Park, Horndean,
Hampshire;
Christies sale, 27th June, 1975, Lot 5, rep.;
Sotheby's sale, 1 Nov., 1978, Lot 51, rep.;
Harari and Johns, 1988
Private Collection, England.
Lindsay Fine Art, 1992
Private Collection, England.
Literature:
W.G. Constable, Canaletto, second edition, revised by J.G. Links, 1989, No. 133*, Illustrated Plate 234. George Knox, "Four Canaletti for the Duke of Bolton", Apollo Magazine, October 1993, p.245.
A view across the basin from the Guidecca with the Customs House (Dogana) on the left, the entrance to St Marks Square and the island of San Giorgio Maggiore with its church to the right of the composition. A rich variety of schooners, barges, rowboats and gondolas are distributed across the basin.
Whilst Joe Links dates the painting to around 1740, George Knox believes it was executed prior to 1735 due to topographical evidence in relation to Visenti's engravings which is all described in his article on the subject.
The painting is one of a set of four commissioned directly from Canaletto by the Duke of Bolton. The Duke paid £100 for the set and a full description of the acquisition and provenance is described in George Knox's attached article.
The painting is a true rendition of the Bacino with a few architectural adjustments to improve the composition. For example Canaletto has pivoted St Giorgio Maggiore 190 degrees in order to show us the remarkable Baroque facade. It is also a faithful reproduction of a sunny day in the Bacino in the middle of the 18th Century. It is easy to see how in the days before photography people were astounded by Canaletto's ability to recreate what he saw. It is also a very beautiful painting with the little details such as the mother and child on the balcony of the Dogana and the two friars in conversation in the gondola in the right hand foreground carefully observed.
The distinctive Italian sky and clever use of perspective give a sense of depth and space in the painting. The different styles of architecture which make Venice so interesting such as the Gothic Doges Palace and the Baroque facade of St Giorgio Maggiore are accurately portrayed.
Canaletto was the greatest 18th Century Venetian "Vedute" or Landscape painter. These magnificent portraits of Venice were especially popular among the English aristocracy of the time, who collected his work as mementoes of their visits to Venice.
On the most obvious level his lifelike portraits of his beloved Venice are stunningly accurate, very decorative and historically fascinating. Because of his attention to detail it is possible to accurately date his paintings by what has or hasn't been built.
Other versions of this view are in the collections of Earl Fitzwilliam, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, The Wallace Collection and a private collection in England. The huge version in Boston is generally considered to be Canaletto's masterpiece which explains, along with the version in the Wallace Collection, why this view is so famous in Canaletto's oeuvre.
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